





















PIONEER SCOUTS 
OF THE OHIO 


By EVERETT T. TOMLINSON 


SCOUTING ON THE OLD FRONTIER 

STORIES OF THE AMERICAN 
REVOLUTION 

SCOUTING WITH MAD ANTHONY 

THE MYSTERIOUS RIFLEMAN 

SCOUTING ON THE BORDER 

THE PURSUIT OF THE APACHE CHIEF 

THE TRAIL OF THE MOHAWK CHIEF 

YOUNG PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE 
AMERICAN REVOLUTION 

PLACES YOUNG AMERICANS WANT 
TO KNOW 

FIGHTERS YOUNG AMERICANS WANT 
TO KNOW 

THE STORY OF GENERAL PERSHING 




















•‘They’re gaining now, Phin.” 


[page 112] 



AMERICAN SCOUTING SERIES 

PIONEER SCOUTS 
OF THE OHIO 


EVERETT T. TOMLINSON 

AUTHOR OF “SCOUTING IN THE WILDERNESS," “YOUNG 
PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION." 
ETC. 



D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

NEW YORK :: 1924 :: LONDON 






.TV?t 

Tu 

LsAmj Z 


COPYRIGHT, 1924, BY 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 


PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

SEP *4 74 

©C1A800700 



PREFACE 


The story of the retreating frontier is one 
that never grows old. The romance of pioneer 
days, when the hardy people steadily pushed 
their way westward and founded new homes 
or felled the forests and developed their farms, 
shows how much better they builded than they 
knew. At the present time there is a fresh and 
renewed interest in all the romance of the 
pioneer period. The qualities that were de¬ 
manded then were not different from those 
required in every age and place to win success. 
Courage in meeting difficulty and danger, the 
willingness to endure hardships, the enterprise 
which was a necessary condition in leaving the 
old and founding the new, the facing of con¬ 
tinual peril from wild beasts and Indians, to 
say nothing of that which came from the prim¬ 
itive conditions, the resourcefulness that was 
perpetual in its demand,—all are qualities that 
to-day mark the successful man just as they did 
in the days long past. 

The story of their journeys and of the ex¬ 
periences through which they passed is far 
v 


PREFACE 


more fascinating than is the story which is 
purely fictitious. All the incidents incorporated 
in this tale are true. The writer has found 
them in the earlier records of Ohio. He has 
tried to present them in a story form that not 
only may interest his young readers but would 
also lead them on to further investigations of 
their own. 

The heritage of the American boy and girl 
in the deeds of their heroic ancestors is one 
that should not likely be cast aside and should 
be known to all. 

It is true also that the same qualifications 
that were necessary to found the new homes 
and to traverse and open the wilderness are 
not unlike those which are necessary to preserve 
the same homes which they established but 
which have come down to us. Indeed the writer 
is sometimes prone to think that greater hero¬ 
ism is required in preserving such a heritage 
than in originally establishing it. At all events, 
if the writer’s efforts to interest his readers 
and to induce them to place a proper valuation 
upon their heritage of which every young 
American should be proud, his labors will not 
have been in vain. 

Everett T. Tomlinson 

Elizabeth 
New Jersey 

vi 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Trot Line.1 

II. The Hunter’s Catch.15 

III. The Turkey Hunt.31 

IV. The Young Hunters.46 

V. The Plan of Captain Rogers ... 61 

YI. Pursued by Wolves.72 

VII. The Two Brothers . . . . . .87 

VIII. The Skaters.101 

IX. The Spelling Class.113 

X. The Loss of the Captain .... 127 

XI. Fallen.141 

XII. In the Cave.154 

XIII. The White Man’s Question . . . 167 

XIY. The Warning.180 

XY. The Brothers Depart.195 

vii 












CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XVI. Little Eagle.208 

XVII. The Plight of Ben. 221 

XVIII. Assembling the Braves. 235 

XIX. Conclusion. 252 


viii 






PIONEER SCOUTS 
OF THE OHIO 













PIONEER SCOUTS 
OF THE OHIO 


CHAPTER I 
THE TROT LINE 


T AKE hold here and help.” 

“I am taking hold! Pm doing my 
best. We must have six whales on 
this trot line.” 

“Well, haul away! I’m doing my part.” 
Silence followed the brief conversation, while 
Ichabod and Benjamin Taylor bent to their 
task on the shore of the Muskingum River. 
The hour was early in the morning in a late 
October day in 1791. In the preceding evening 
the two brothers had carefully arranged their 
trot line and left it for the night in the water. 
This morning, when they rushed to the bank 
to discover what success their efforts had won, 
they were both excited when it speedily became 
evident that this time there was no question 
that a large number of fish had been hooked. 
1 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


The trot line, consisting of one long line, to 
which various short lines with hooks had been 
attached, had all been baited before the long 
line had been carried far out into the river and 
anchored and left for the night. 

This was a common method of fishing in the 
busy days of the early pioneers in southern 
Ohio. The streams abounded in fish, but so 
many were the tasks of the settlers and so hard 
the life they lived that fishing as a sport was a 
rare diversion. On the other hand, the food 
which the rivers and streams so easily pro¬ 
vided must be had and trot lines provided one 
of the easiest and not the least successful 
methods of catching the fish that abounded in 
these waters. 

Ich and Ben, as the brothers were commonly 
known, had placed their rifles near by on the 
shore, ready for quick use. The times were 
troublesome, for the Indians had no welcome 
for the whites who were steadily encroaching 
upon their inherited territory. Then, too, the 
British and the Canadians were jealous over 
the boundary line of the newly formed United 
States of America. The citizens of this latter 
country were by no means willing that the Ohio 
River should form this boundary, for they be¬ 
lieved that much of the country far beyond its 
shores by right belonged to the sturdy people 
2 


THE TROT LINE 


who had so recently won their independence. 

Ben and Ich Taylor in the preceding year 
had come with their father and their elder 
brother Phineas, and settled on a grant from 
the Ohio Company along the rich bottoms of 
the Muskingum River. So fertile had been the 
soil and so free was it from the growth of heavy 
timbers that were plainly to be seen farther 
back from the waters, that they had not even 
been compelled to clear their land of stumps. 
Mr. Taylor and his three sons had set fire to 
the brush that grew near the banks and, be¬ 
cause there were not many roots of dead bushes 
left in the dark rich soil, they had not even 
gone to the labor of plowing. With heavy 
hoes they had dug holes in the soft ground and 
planted their grain and also the few seeds of 
vegetables they had brought with them in their 
slow journey across the Allegheny Mountains. 

The crops of the second year had already 
been harvested. Among the few scattered set¬ 
tlers in the vicinity, and any one who dwelt 
within twenty miles was called a * c neighbor ,’ 9 
there was surprise at the abundance which had 
rewarded the labors of the four men who 
dwelt in the little log house, the home of Phin, 
Ich and Ben Taylor and their father. 

Their mother, unable to endure the hardships 
of the long and slow journey from Massachu- 
3 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


setts, had died before the family had crossed 
Pennsylvania. Her death, although it was a 
source of deep sorrow to her family, had not 
caused either Mr. Taylor or his boys to aban¬ 
don their project to obtain a new home in the 
promised land of Ohio. The Ohio Company, 
to which reference already has been made, had 
been organized with the consent of the gov¬ 
ernment and had purchased a vast extent of 
land which they were dividing among the 
settlers. 

The land which Mr. Taylor and his boys ob¬ 
tained was perhaps the most fertile in that 
fertile region. They were counted among the 
more prosperous settlers, not only because of 
the rich soil of their section, but also because 
they had been so fortunate as to bring with 
them a yoke of oxen and two horses. Any set¬ 
tler who was the owner of four such animals 
was indeed wealthy in the eyes of his neighbors. 

On this day when Ben and Ich had gone to 
the shore of the river to haul in their trot line, 
their father and their older brother Phin (who, 
having arrived at the mature age of eighteen, 
was already looked upon as one of the men of 
the region) had taken their two horses and set 
forth for the Salt Licks, as the Salt Springs 
were called. It was a long and difficult jour¬ 
ney and the labor of obtaining salt may be un- 
4 


THE TROT LINE 


derstood from the fact that they were com¬ 
pelled to boil down eight hundred gallons of 
salt water in order to obtain fifty pounds of 
salt, and yet salt was a necessity and somehow 
must be had. For this purpose, these two 
pioneers had set forth on their difficult and 
dangerous expedition. The Indians were no 
more cordial to the whites who visited the Salt 
Springs, which they declared to be their own, 
than they were to all settlers who made their 
homes in the land which the Red Men believed 
they had inherited from their fathers. 

During the absence of Mr. Taylor and Phin, 
the younger boys had been told to set the trot 
line and clean and prepare the fish they might 
obtain for drying and curing. In spite of the 
crops the problem of food, especially of meat, 
for the long and dreary winter, was one for 
which preparation must be made before the 
snow filled the hollows or the ice covered the 
streams. 

i( This is the biggest haul we’ve ever had!” 
shouted Ich in his excitement, as the water 
before them bubbled and boiled from the fran¬ 
tic movements of the fish and the weight of 
the heavy line steadily increased. Ben made 
no reply but renewed his exertions, as he 
braced himself and pulled harder upon the 
line. 


5 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


Already some of tlie fish were clearly to be 
seen. Occasionally one broke above the sur¬ 
face of the water in a vain endeavor to escape. 
Relentlessly, however, the line was hauled 
ashore and at last the boys looked down upon 
the catch they had made. 

There were fish of many kinds and sizes. 
Every one of the hooks which had been attached 
to the trot line held a victim. The living, 
squirming, struggling mass at last was hauled 
up on the shore and with a shout from Ich the 
two boys devoted themselves to the task of free¬ 
ing their victims. 

A blow from a stout club was administered to 
every fish when it was taken from the hook. 
Perhaps this was not done from motives of 
sympathy so much as because Big Joe, the 
hunter, had told them the flesh of a fish killed 
immediately after it was caught was always 
sweeter than of one which had been permitted 
to die a lingering, gasping death. 

When at last the labors of the boys were 
ended they stood for a moment gazing with 
pride upon the mass of flopping fish before 
them. 

“Here’s a pike,” exclaimed Ben, “which has 
swallowed a perch that had taken the bait on 
one of the lines! The greedy rascal is caught 
in his own trap.” 


6 


THE TROT LINE 


“ We’ll soon attend to him. A pike will taste 
just as good next winter as a perch.’’ 

“Well, we’ve a fine job ahead of us. I don’t 
mind catching the fish nearly as much as I do 
cleaning them.” 

“Before we do anything we ought to set that 
trot line again.” 

“You’re right about that.” 

Eagerly the boys rebaited the short lines and 
then Ben, who was the older, having arrived 
at the mature age of seventeen and who natu¬ 
rally as a consequence looked to Ich to obey 
orders, told his brother to take the canoe, draw 
the line and its “bobs” out into the stream and 
once more drop the tempting mass into the 
Muskingum. 

Returning to the shore he joined Ben as the 
latter was bending over a rough plank which 
had been placed on the ground. Upon this the 
fish one by one were placed and quickly be¬ 
headed, then scraped and cleaned in such a 
manner that only the flesh, white and clean, 
was left. 

The fish, as fast as they were prepared for 
the process that awaited them, were cast into 
a wooden bucket partly filled with water. 

When at last the task of cleaning their catch 
was completed, the two boys next devoted them¬ 
selves to a thorough washing of the fish. The 
7 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


flesh then was ready for the salt which Mr. 
Taylor and Phin were expected soon to pro¬ 
vide. 

After they had been sorted, the fish were 
partly skinned and dried in the sunlight and 
then stored away for use when winter came. 
Many catches must be made before the full sup¬ 
ply for winter would be provided, for Mr. Tay¬ 
lor and his boys were generous to their less for¬ 
tunate neighbors who had settled farther back 
from the river, and provided part of the fish 
and meat which would serve them as food when 
the hardy settlers were held in their cabins by 
the wintry storms. 

i ‘ That river is full of fish, ’ ’ declared Ich, who 
was quick and impulsive in his manner of 
speech and very different from his more 
serious-minded older brother Ben. 

The latter was short and fat. No amount of 
teasing ever served to ruffle Ben’s temper, while 
Ich’s temper required no ruffling at all. Ap¬ 
parently he held plenty of it on tap. Indeed, 
he had declared to his father that it was a mis¬ 
take to say that he was always “losing” his 
temper when the fact was that he never “lost” 
it at all, for his temper was always with him. 
It was Ben who apparently had lost his temper, 
for he seldom displayed any signs of anger. 
Only once throughout their boyhood could Ich 
8 


THE TROT LINE 


recall a time when Ben had become so angry 
that he lost control of himself. That occasion, 
however, was one which Ich well remembered 
and caused him to be somewhat more guarded 
in his dealings with his brother than previously 
he had been. 

And now it was Ben who was the undemon¬ 
strative, quiet leader and Ich who was very 
much like an audience that shouted its applause. 

‘ 1 Look yonder,” exclaimed Ich suddenly, as 
he pointed toward the forest. 41 There comes 
Big Joe.” 

Big Joe, a young man about twenty-four 
years of age, was a well-known hunter through¬ 
out southern Ohio. He had never settled down 
to develop a section of land, for the call of 
the hunter and fisher was ever foremost in his 
interest. If he had a home anywhere in the 
region he had not told of its location. He was 
a frequent visitor at the Taylor cabin which he 
had helped to build. He had worked steadily, 
felling and shaping the timbers which the ox- 
team hauled to the bank of the river. Timbers 
only had been used in the construction of the 
little house and Big Joe, an expert in the task, 
had shown the newcomers how the logs were to 
be fitted and adjusted, and had shaped the few 
hickory “pins” which had been used to hold 
certain of the beams in place. When this task 
9 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


had been completed Big Joe with his rifle had 
departed, very likely not to be seen again for 
many weeks. 

He was a welcome visitor, however, whenever 
he felt moved to return. His sturdy frame, his 
skill as a marksman, his quiet manners, all 
combined to make him popular with the Tay¬ 
lors. He had taught each of the boys how to 
use his rifle and occasionally, on days never to 
be forgotten, had taken one of the lads in his 
canoe when he had “gone fishing. ,, 

His skill as a fisherman was not less than as 
a hunter. In recent months, Big Joe had sel¬ 
dom been seen in the cabin because the increas¬ 
ing troubles with the Indian tribes and the 
lack of success of the white soldiers in subdu¬ 
ing them had greatly increased the peril of 
the pioneers. Blockhouses already had been 
erected in various places and from several of 
these spies or rangers went forth daily to scour 
the surrounding region in search of evidences 
of the presence of the dreaded Shawnees or 
Delawares. 

In all there were seven tribes in the region, 
all of whom were bitterly opposing the en¬ 
croachments by the whites and now were 
doubly dangerous because of their success in 
driving back the armed forces which had been 
sent to subdue them. The visit of Big Joe, 
lo 


THE TROT LINE 


therefore, might be one to warn of peril or it 
might be simply a friendly call, if the hunter 
had obtained a day or two of release from his 
regular tasks. 

Both Ben and his brother were silent as they 
watched the coming of Big Joe. The confi¬ 
dence and pride of both boys in the prowess of 
their visitor was manifest in the very manner 
with which they waited for him to draw near. 
Big Joe was dressed in deer skin. Leggings, 
lined with fringe, adorned each leg and his hat 
of coon skin increased the impression of his 
belonging to the whites. 

Quietly the hunter drew near and bringing 
his rifle to the ground leaned forward and 
rested upon it as he looked keenly into the 
faces of his two young friends. 

“Where’s your dad!” he inquired brusquely, 
glancing quickly from one boy to the other. 

‘‘Gone for salt,” spoke up Ich quickly. 

“When ’ll he be back!” 

“ ’Most any time,” said Ben. 

“What’s wrong!” demanded the younger 
boy. “Have you come to tell us that we must 
run for our lives the way you did the last time 
you were here! Are the redskins at their 
same old game!” 

Ignoring the questions of the eager boy, the 
hunter glanced at the fish which the boys had 
11 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


prepared for salting and said, “Get those on 
your trot line?” 

“That’s what we did!” spoke up Ich 
promptly. “And we’ve set it again.” 

The hunter said, “I got a big black cat the 
other day.” 

“What’d it weigh?” inquired Ich. 

“Ninety-six pounds.” 

The “cat” was a catfish of which there were 
two varieties in the Muskingum and Ohio. 
One was known as the black cat and the other 
as the yellow. The black cat grew to be the 
larger, although catches of the yellow cats that 
weighed fifty to sixty pounds each were not un¬ 
common. The weight of the black cat to which 
Big Joe referred was greater than any of which 
the pioneer boys had heard. 

“What’d you say? How much?” demanded 
Ich quickly. 

“I said ninety-six pounds,” answered the 
hunter quietly. “That’s what the steelyards 
showed. ’ ’ 

“You must have stuffed it full of rocks and 
jammed in all the other fish you caught to make 
it weigh that much,” laughed Ich. 

“That was exactly what the fish weighed,” 
replied Big Joe solemnly. “We didn’t want 
to weigh the whole of Ohio.” 

“But ninety-six pounds! I don’t believe I 
12 


THE TROT LINE 


weigh more than a hundred and thirty-five my¬ 
self/’ 

“Probably not,” replied the hunter dryly. 
“The fish was most as big as you and a power¬ 
ful sight stronger.” 

Ben smiled as his brother flushed at the 
hunter’s words and said, “Tell us about it. 
Where’d you get it?” 

“About five miles up the river,” explained 
the hunter. “I went out in a canoe, baited up 
and then let out my line and floated down the 
stream. I was dead tired because I’d been up 
two nights a-runnin’. Finally, when I didn’t 
get a bite, I stretched out in the canoe after 
I had wound my fish line around my leg, and 
the first thing I knew, I went to sleep.” 

“Ha! Ha!” laughed Ich, “I know the rest 
of the story. The big cat grabbed your hook 
and tipped over your canoe. When you saw 
him you probably thought he was the fish that 
came after Jonah.” 

“No, that wasn’t the way,” continued the 
hunter quietly. “I drifted, I don’t know how 
long or how far, but I must have gone a mile 
or more and then all at once I had a tremendous 
yank on my left leg. You can believe me that 
I sat up pretty quick. At first I didn’t know 
just what had happened but pretty soon it all 
came back to me and then I was in for a fight. 

13 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


It took me more’n an hour to tire that big cat 
out. I let him work upstream and down¬ 
stream, and pulled on him only when he’d go 
for the bottom and try to sulk there, then I’d 
let him know that I had hold of him and off: 
he’d start again. He sure did give me a pretty 
sail. When I had him all tuckered out, I had 
worked my way pretty close in shore and when 
I saw I had him well hooked I landed him, but 
he did give me a fight. ’ ’ 

“Do you suppose there are any more out 
there?” demanded Ich quickly. 

“I suppose there be, though that’s the big¬ 
gest one I ever ketched. I don’t know as I 
ever heard of a bigger.” 

“That’s big enough,” said Ben. 

“No, sir,” spoke up Ich. “When I go out 
I want to get the biggest one in the river. I’d 
like to show Phin when he comes back what I 
can do. He thinks just because he’s eighteen 
years old and I am only fifteen that he’s a big 
man and I am only a cub. I’d like to get a cat 
that weighs a hundred pounds.” 

The conversation was halted, however, as a 
prolonged scream of terror came from beyond 
the rude little log barn. The sound was re¬ 
peated and, seizing their guns, the hunter and 
the two boys ran swiftly in the direction from 
which the startling sound had been heard. 


CHAPTER n 

THE HUNTER'S CATCH 

I T’S the hog-pen!” exclaimed Ich in an 
awed voice, as the speed of the runners 
increased. 

“Yes, it’s the hogs,” acknowledged Ben, as 
he looked eagerly forward toward the place 
from which the terrifying squeals were heard. 

The sounds were still rising and it was evi¬ 
dent to all three that the animals were in 
mortal terror. 

As the runners darted around the corner of 
the log barn the hog-pen was directly before 
them. Prowling around the pen were two lean, 
gaunt wolves. At the sight of the approaching 
men, one of the savage animals turned and 
baring its teeth snarled at the boys. The 
other wolf, instantly aware of its peril, turned 
quickly and like a streak of light darted into 
the nearby forest. 

Big Joe quickly had brought his gun to his 
shoulder and fired. His example was instantly 
followed by the boys whose shots rang out to¬ 
gether. 


15 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


The nearer wolf, emitting one long howl, top¬ 
pled to the ground and lay still. 

‘ ‘ Look out for yourselves/’ warned the 
hunter as he cautiously approached the place 
where the beast was lying. “You never can 
tell about these fellows. Sometimes you think 
they’re dead when they’re really far from it.” 

A moment later when they drew near to the 
place where the wolf was lying, the hunter said, 
“He’s dead. There isn’t any question about 
that. ’ ’ 

“We’ll have to save his skin,” said Ich ex¬ 
citedly. “What’s the bounty now, Big Joe?” 

“Four dollars for every pelt.” 

“That’s an easy way to earn four dollars,” 
laughed Ich in his excitement. 

“The question is, who shot the wolf?” said 
the hunter dryly. “Let’s look at him and see 
how many hit him.” 

An examination speedily revealed three 
wounds in the gaunt body. One rifle bullet had 
penetrated the skull, one had passed through 
the body, while the third showed that the wolf 
had been hit in the foreleg. 

“We’d better skin the brute right away,” 
suggested the hunter. “We’ve got plenty to 
do before the day is done.” 

The other wolf having fled, there was noth¬ 
ing to be gained by an attempt to follow it. 

16 


THE HUNTER’S CATCH 


Accordingly, Big Joe and Ben, taking their 
knives, instantly began the task of skinning the 
dead wolf whose body was still warm. Mean¬ 
while the hogs, of which there were six in the 
pen, had stopped their squealing and ap¬ 
parently were convinced that they were safe 
now that the hunter and the boys had come to 
their rescue. 

“It's great,” said Big Joe, as he drew back 
the pelt from the body of the wolf, “how those 
hogs will defend themselves sometimes when 
they are attacked in the open by the wolves.” 

“What’ll they do?” inquired Ben. 

“They’ll form a circle,” replied the hunter, 
“and put the weak fellows and the little ones 
inside and then the old ones will fight from the 
outside of the circle. They can put up a good 
fight, too. I saw a wolf not long ago that 
showed where its skin had been ripped for more 
than a foot by the tusks of some mad porker. 
Yes, sir, they put up a stiff fight. You 
boys ought to fix this pen so that it’ll be wolf- 
tight.” 

i ‘ What do you mean ? ’ ’ inquired Ich. ‘ ‘ What 
can we do ? ” 

“You ought to put logs across the top of it. 
No wolf can scratch through these logs as they 
are here, but he can crawl up to the top and 
drop down inside and get just as many hogs 
17 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


as he wants. You ought to put some logs 
across the top.” 

“That’s what we’ll do,” said Ben. 1 ‘Just 
as soon as we get through with our fish we’ll 
attend to it.” 

“It’s strange how all the varmints seem to 
take to the hogs. Last winter I followed the 
track of a painter that had lifted a big hog 
and carried it so that the body didn’t once 
touch the snow for more than three hundred 
feet.” 

“What do you mean?” demanded Ich. 

“Well, I mean that he just held the hog up 
in his jaws and didn’t drag the body at all.” 

“I knew they were fearfully strong but I 
didn’t believe that they could take a hog and 
carry it without dragging it.” 

“This fellow did,” explained the hunter, 
“and the porker must have weighed one hun¬ 
dred seventy-five pounds.” 

“Did you see it?” inquired Ben. 

“Yes, as I was telling yo’, I found the porker 
where the painter had hidden him. He dug in 
the snow which was about six inches deep and 
made a hole right near a log, then he covered 
up the carcass and left it, expecting to come 
back for it when he was a little hungrier 
than he happened to be at that time. But two 
of us got on his trail, found him covered in a 
18 


THE HUNTER’S CATCH 


big oak tree and shot him while he was crouch¬ 
ing on one of the long branches.” 

“I’d like to shoot a painter,” exclaimed Ben 
excitedly. 

* ‘ Maybe you will some day, ’ ’ said the hunter. 
“You have to be mighty keerful because the 
painters ’most always go in pairs and, while 
you are getting one, the other is doing his best 
to get you. ’ ’ 

The task of skinning the wolf was completed 
by this time and taking the pelt the boys re¬ 
turned to the place where they had been clean¬ 
ing the fish they had taken with their trot lines. 

“How are we going to divide this bounty?” 
inquired Ben when they had arrived at the 
bank of the river. 

“I reckon we won’t quarrel very long over 
that,” said the hunter laughing quietly as he 
spoke. 

“Let me see,” said Ich. “If the bounty is 
four dollars how much will that be for each 
one f’ ’ 

“I don’t want any bounty,” said the hunter. 
“I’ll leave that for you two boys. You can 
divide it between you. ’ ’ 

“That’s mighty good of you, Big Joe,” said 
Ben quickly. “We don’t want to be hogs. 
The wolves may get after us if we try any of 
the hog’s tricks.” 


19 


PIONEEE SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“It’s yours,” said the hunter quietly. “I 
understand the Ohio Company is adding a bit 
to the bounty so that you may get a little more 
than four dollars. I hope so. Boys,” he 
added, “ while you r re working on the fish I 
think I ’ll take my skiff and go out on the river 
and see what I can do for a pike.” 

Both boys looked at him longingly, for each 
was eager to accompany Big Joe who was as 
skillful a fisherman as he was a hunter. Never¬ 
theless both were aware that the task of pre¬ 
paring the fish was not yet entirely completed. 
A tub was brought from the house and filled 
with clean water. While the boys were arrang¬ 
ing their catch in this receptacle both were 
quietly watching Big Joe. He had pushed his 
skiff off toward a shoal about twenty feet from 
the bank where he began his task. A big hook 
and line was cast over the side and in a moment 
the hunter had drawn on board a chub that 
weighed at least a quarter of a pound. The 
hunter lifted the fish and looked at it carefully 
and then with an exclamation of disgust tossed 
it up on the shore. Again he cast overboard 
his hook and line and soon was drawing on 
board another chub. This fish weighed at least 
a half pound more and apparently fitted the 
plan of the hunter. 

Removing his catch from the hook he ad- 
20 


THE HUNTER'S CATCH 


justed it to another larger hook and then moved 
his skiff farther out into the river. After he 
had gone fifty feet nearer the channel he an¬ 
chored and then, taking the large bait which he 
had secured, hooked it and cast it far out over 
the water. At once he began to pull rapidly 
on his line so that the chub was raised to the 
surface of the river and seemed to he leaping 
and jumping as if it were trying to escape the 
pursuit of some huge fish. 

The first try which the hunter made did not 
bring any results. Once more Big Joe arose 
in the canoe and, swinging his bait about his 
head, cast it still farther out into the waters of 
the river. Again he drew swiftly on his line, 
pulling hand over hand, and once more the big 
chub arose to the surface and seemed to be do¬ 
ing its utmost to escape some ravenous enemy. 

This time, however, when Big Joe had drawn 
in less than half his line, there was a sudden 
commotion in the water and the bait was seized. 
A moment later Big Joe glanced for a moment 
at the shore and shouted to the watching boys, 
“I've got the grandfather of all the pike in 
the Muskingum. Hi, there, just watch me!" 

The excited boys ran down to the bank and 
peered eagerly across the water at the hunter. 
In spite of his usual phlegmatic manner it was 
plain that Big Joe was greatly excited. The 
21 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


fish was securely hooked and was dragging 
the skiff from its anchorage. Indeed, as there 
came a moment of relief, Big Joe hauled in 
the large stone which he had used as an anchor 
and dropping it upon the bottom of the little 
boat, hastily gave his attention again to the 
struggling fish. 

4 ‘Look at him!” again shouted Ben in his 
excitement. “My, that’s a whopper!” 

“You’re right, it is!” echoed Ich. “I’d give 
my rifle if I was on board that skiff.” 

“Oh, no you wouldn’t,” protested Ben 
soberly. 

“Look there! Look there!” exclaimed Ich. 
“He almost had the skiff capsized!” 

“You trust Big Joe,” said Ben. “He won’t 
go over; but he’s got a big cat or a big pike, 
bigger’n anything I ever saw in the river.” 

Both boys became silent as they watched the 
activities of the fisherman. The huge fish 
which he had caught was dragging the skiff 
swiftly over the water. Big Joe was making 
no effort to restrain his catch, although fre¬ 
quently he pulled in on the line. 

The hooked fish now was darting in different 
directions. First it moved upstream and then, 
taking a sudden turn, swept swiftly downward 
with the current. Twice it carried the skiff 
and its occupant across the channel and only 
22 


THE HUNTER’S CATCH 


reversed its flight when Big Joe steadily pulled 
upon the line. 

Ten minutes had elapsed since the fish had 
been hooked and apparently the end was not 
yet near. 

“I hope he doesn’t lose it!” exclaimed Ich. 
‘‘ Whatever it is, I should like to see it.” 

“You’ll see it right soon,” said Ben confi¬ 
dently. “Big Joe isn’t the man to lose such 
a catch when once he has got it well hooked.” 

Ben’s words, however, were still unfulfilled 
when five more minutes had elapsed. The fish 
was still struggling desperately, although the 
length of its dashes was less than when first it 
had been caught. It was still moving swiftly, 
however, but the efforts of the fisherman had 
not entirely exhausted it and he was quietly 
working the huge fish until it should be more 
nearly worn out. 

When five more minutes had passed, ap¬ 
parently the end was in sight. Big Joe was 
kneeling in the skiff now and leaning over the 
gunwale. It was evident that he could see 
his catch and was doing his utmost to draw it 
steadily toward the boat. 

“I wonder if he’s got a gaff,” said Ich in a 
low voice. 

“Yes, he has,” said Ben. “Don’t you see 
it? He’s got it in his hands right now.” 

23 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


With his left hand Big Joe had brought the 
fish nearly alongside the skiff so that its head 
was toward the stern of the boat. With a 
quick motion he suddenly drew the fish still 
nearer and then, seizing the gaff with his right 
hand, he leaned forward over the water and, 
with a quick motion, lifting with both his left 
hand and his right which held the gaff, he drew 
the great fish on board. 

“Hi!” shouted Ich, who was so excited that 
if his brother had not restrained him he would 
have leaped into the water. “What have you 
got, Big Joe? What is it?” 

“It’s a pike,” replied the hunter in a muffled 
tone. With a club in his hand he quickly put 
an end to the struggles of the huge fish. The 
boys could see the fish as in its last desperate 
struggle it was throwing itself about the little 
boat. The struggles, however, were soon qui¬ 
eted and when he was at last convinced that 
no further efforts were required, Big Joe reeled 
in his line and, after he had placed it carefully 
on the bottom of the skiff, took up his oars 
and began to row toward the shore. 

The two brothers eagerly awaited his coming, 
but even their excitement was increased when 
they peered over at the catch Big Joe had made. 

“It’s a pike,” said the hunter quietly. 

“Whew!” said Ich. “Looks like a whale. 

24 


THE HUNTER’S CATCH 


It’s the biggest fish I ever saw caught in the 
river. ’ ’ 

“It’s the biggest pike I ever saw,” acknowl¬ 
edged Big Joe, not without pride. ''I’ve 
seen them that weighed fifty pounds but this 
fellow will go ten or fifteen pounds better than 
that. ’ ’ 

“I didn’t know that pike ever grew to be as 
large as that,” said Ben. 

“I never saw one afore as big as this,” said 
the hunter. “ As I was telling you, this fellow 
will weigh every bit of that, maybe he’ll go 
five pounds more.” 

“What are you going to do with it?” in¬ 
quired Ich, as the hunter stepped ashore and 
drew the huge pike after him. 

The hunter did not reply to the lad’s question 
but proceeded to drag the body of the fish 
farther up on the bank. “What’ll I do with 
it?” he then inquired of his companions as he 
spoke. “I think I’ll give it to you. They 
aren’t much good unless they’re baked or 
roasted well. I haven’t any fireplace around 
here and besides I’ll let you have it so that 
you’ll have something more for winter.” 

‘ < Good for you, Big Joe!” shouted Ich. “I’d 
like to stuff the fish more than I’d like to eat 
it. I’d stick it up on the walls of the barn and 
tell Sam Beavens when he comes blowing 
25 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


round, that’s one of our minnows over here. 
That’s like what we use for bait when we go 
out for real fish. He never caught anything 
like that. The biggest pike he ever caught 
didn’t weigh more’n twelve pounds and he 
thought it was a whale. He showed it to me 
when I was over there and was as proud as a 
peacock.” 

“Be sure you don’t show him that you are,” 
suggested Big Joe dryly. “Just remember 
that fish is a present to you and don’t you tell 
any whoppers about the way you caught it, 
either.” 

Ich’s face flushed as Ben laughed but he said 
no more. 

‘‘ The best thing you boys can do, ’ ’ suggested 
the hunter, “is to clean this fish right away 
and put it along with the rest of your catch.” 

“But I thought it wasn’t any good unless it 
was cooked together,” suggested Ben. 

“Well, it’s better cooked that way,” replied 
the hunter. “But I’m thinking along about 
Christmas when the snow is three or four feet 
deep and you can’t get out to shoot anything, 
even if any game is left around here, you’ll 
be mighty glad to cut off some chunks of the 
pike for your dinner.” 

“You’re exactly right,” said Ben slowly. 

Big Joe laughed in his silent manner and 
26 


THE HUNTER’S CATCH 


without any further conversation at once pro¬ 
ceeded to clean the great pike and prepare it 
for its place among the provisions which were 
being stored for the approaching winter. The 
task was soon completed and after the pike had 
been cut into four sections, it was placed in the 
tub with the remainder of the catch which the 
boys had made that morning. 

“I hope father and Phin will be coming back 
pretty soon,” said Ben anxiously. “I’m 
afraid the fish won’t keep if we don’t get some 
salt before long.” 

“They ought to have been here yesterday,” 
said Ich, “but they’ll probably be home to¬ 
day, so that we will be all right. ’ ’ 

“You’re always worrying about something, 
Ben.” 

“I’m not worrying,” retorted Ben, “but I 
don’t want to lose all these fish just because 
we can’t salt them down.” 

“They’ll be here pretty soon,” said the 
hunter. “If they promised to come back yes¬ 
terday, they won’t be more than a day or two 
late. Anyway, I guess the fish will keep until 
to-morrow if we set the tub in the water and 
cover it over. ’ ’ 

Acting upon his suggestion the two boys 
lifted the heavy tub and, carrying it to the 
shore, placed it in the water and then anchored 
27 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


it by placing two planks across the top on 
which they also placed heavy stones. 

‘ 4 There, that’ll fix things for a while, I 
reckon,” said Ben, as he stood back and sur¬ 
veyed his handiwork. “Now if father and 
Phin only come in time, we’ll be all right for 
the winter.” 

Big Joe laughed quietly as he said, “I’m 
thinking you’ll have something more to do to 
get ready for winter than just salting away a 
few fish. There’s a plenty of trouble around 
and no one knows what’s going to happen.” 

“What do you mean? Indians?” inquired 
Ich quickly. 

“That’s just what I do mean,” said the 
hunter quietly. ‘ c Ever since St. Clair and Har- 
mer made such a fizzle of their fights against 
the Shawnees and the rest of the tribes, every 
redskin in Ohio is ready to take up his toma¬ 
hawk and rifle and start on the warpath. 
Sometimes they haven’t waited for war to be 
declared before they began their job.” 

“Is there anything new?” inquired Ben 
anxiously. 

“Yes, there is more of the same kind like 
what’s been going on for the last two or three 
years. Just the other day, I saw Jim Stone 
and he told me how he and the Putnam boys and 
Browning were working in their cornfield less 
28 


THE HUNTER’S CATCH 


than a week ago. Nobody works now without 
having a guard stationed. You see there were 
six of these men and they took turns at being 
sentinels. One watched the fields while the 
other five worked. They cut a great deal of 
corn the first day they were out and were go¬ 
ing back the next day, satisfied that the Indians 
weren’t going to give them any trouble. You 
see they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of an Indian 
on that first day. 

“They agreed to meet and start early the 
next morning, but when they came to the Put¬ 
nams ’ house, Browning wasn’t there. It 
seemed they had word from him that he had 
to go down on the low land, so they decided to 
wait until he got back. Well, he didn’t come 
back until about ten o’clock and then they all 
started for the field where they had been work¬ 
ing the day before. When they came to the 
place, they saw around the field a lot of tracks 
that showed that the Indians had been there. 
You see it had rained a little in the night and 
it was easy to mark the places where the In¬ 
dians had been. They were pretty well scared 
by that time and, from the number of tracks 
they saw, the men suspected that there must be 
at least fifteen or twenty Indians hanging 
around that cornfield, so they decided they’d 
go back to the blockhouse and wait a day or 
29 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


two until things had cleared up. They all said 
that if it hadn’t been for Browning being late, 
probably every one of them would have been 
shot by the sneaking redskins.” 

“That shows it doesn’t always pay to be on 
time,” said Ben soberly. 

When his companions laughed he said, “It 
doesn’t make any difference what you say. If 
Browning had been there as he agreed, they 
would have all started for the cornfield and 
probably every one of them would have been 
killed.” 

“If being behind time is a sure cure for an 
Indian’s bullet, Ben,” laughed Ich, “I reckon 
no redskin in Ohio will be able to do any dam¬ 
age to you or the rest of us if we wait for you.” 

The conversation abruptly ceased, however, 
when the hunter called the attention of his com¬ 
panions to two horsemen who could be seen 
approaching the place from the nearby forest. 


CHAPTER III 
THE TURKEY HUNT 

I N a brief time Ich exclaimed, “That’s Phin 
and father!” 

It was soon apparent that the lad’s 
words were correct, for the two men were now 
clearly seen as they approached the log cabin. 
Across the pommel of each horse a heavy bag 
was lying and it was soon evident that another 
bag was behind each rider, on the back of his 
horse. 

“They’ve got some salt anyway,” said Big 
Joe quietly. 

“That’s what they went for,” laughed Ich. 
“What did you think they would bring back?” 

“I didn’t know whether they’d get any salt 
or not, it’s such a long slow job.” 

“They’ve been gone a week suggested Ben, 
“so they ought to have been able to do some¬ 
thing in that time. ’ ’ 

The approaching horsemen soon stopped in 
front of the boys and, as they dismounted, 
Phineas said to his brother, “Is everything all 
right here?” 


31 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“Yes,” answered Ben. “What did yon 
think? Didn’t you believe that Ich and I could 
look after the place while you were gone ? ’ ’ 

“Have you seen any Indians?” inquired 
Phin, ignoring the question. 

“Not one,” answered Ben. “The hunter 
here though says they’re busy.” 

“Big Joe is right. They are busy.” 

“What’s happened? What’s new?” in¬ 
quired Ich quickly. 

“We’ve seen a half-dozen people on our way 
home and they all say that the Indians are 
acting worse than they have for six months.” 

“Yes,” interrupted his father. “We’ve just 
heard about Nicholas Carpenter.” 

“What’s happened to him, father?” asked 
Ich excitedly. 

“He has been captured by the Indians. He 
went out with four men and his boy who is 
about twelve years old. They also had a little 
negro lad along with them. Mr. Carpenter 
has regularly been bringing fresh meat and 
fresh cows to the soldiers. This time a half- 
dozen Shawnees got on his trail and they fol¬ 
lowed them almost all one day, until near sun¬ 
set. There was a young Shawnee chief leading 
them, whose name I hear is Tecumseh—one 
of the brightest young braves in the tribe. 
They fell on these men at night just before dark 
32 


THE TURKEY HUNT 


and took Mr. Carpenter and the negro boy.” 

64 What happened to the others?” inquired 
Ich. 

“They got away and brought back the story. 
It seems they didn’t kill or scalp Mr. Carpen¬ 
ter, but one of the men who was hiding in a 
gulch near the place where the Shawnees made 
their attack said they dressed him up in a new 
blanket and put new moccasins on him and then 
started off with him and the black boy . 9 9 

“Why did they dress him up that way?” 
inquired Ben. 

“Nobody knows. Probably they thought he 
was a valuable prisoner and wanted to show 
that they appreciated his worth. The negro 
boy had to go along, too.” 

“Did they dress him up?” asked Ich. 

“There was no report that they did. I pre¬ 
sume they made him put up with all the diffi¬ 
culties of the march.” 

“That shows that the Shawnees anyway are 
busy in the region,” said Phin, “and we were 
afraid that some of them might have shown up 
here . 9 9 

“We haven’t seen a sign of one,” said Ben. 
“Big Joe told us about what happened to the 
Putnams and Mr. Stone and Mr. Browning. 
Mr. Browning was late and that was the only 
thing that saved the lives of the whole party,” 
33 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


said Ich with a laugh. “That shows, Phin,” he 
added, “that, when you tell us we must get up 
on time in the morning, it doesn’t always pay to 
follow your advice.” 

“Never mind that now,” laughed Phin. 
“We’ve got enough salt to keep us busy here 
a long time, that is, if you boys have done what 
we told you to do.” 

“What did you tell us to do?” inquired Ich 
demurely. “You told us to get a lot of fish. 
How many do you call a lot?” 

“Oh, a tub full.” 

“Come here and we’ll show you what we 
got,” said Ich proudly, and, leading the way 
to the shore, he displayed to his father and 
his brother the tub filled with fish which they 
had taken that day. Once more the tale of the 
hunter’s success in catching the big pike had 
to be retold, but the enthusiasm of all was 
great over the success which had attended the 
efforts of the young fisherman. 

“We’ll get busy to-morrow morning first 
thing,” said Phineas, “and salt down those 
fish.” 

“You ought to have some turkeys to salt, 
too,” suggested the hunter, who up to this 
time had not taken any part in the conver¬ 
sation. 

“That’s a mighty good suggestion,” said 
34 


THE TUKKEY HUNT 


Phin quickly. “We might go out to-night and 
see what we can do with them.” 

“I’ve never seen so many turkeys since I 
came to Ohio,” said the hunter. “Sometimes 
there are so many that you can knock them 
down with poles. You can catch a trap full 
of them without any work at all and, if you use 
your gun, you can shoot as many as you want 
to.” 

“That’s provided you find where they are 
roosting,” suggested Ben. 

“That’s true, lad,” said Big Joe. “But I’m 
thinking I can show you a place not more than 
a half-mile from here where you can get almost 
as many as you want. They don’t bring any 
price at all in the settlement now. I carried 
four to Salter’s place and all he would give me 
was six cents apiece. He says that’s all any¬ 
body will give. It isn’t worth the trouble of 
shooting them if you can’t get more than six 
cents for a turkey.” 

“We’ll leave you two boys,” suggested Phin, 
“to put the salt in the barn and Big Joe and 
I’ll go out and see what we can do with the 
turkeys.” 

“You will not!” spoke up Ich promptly. 
“Ben and I’ll put the salt in the barn but you’ll 
wait for us. We’re going along with you and 
Big Joe to get those turkeys.” 

35 


PIONEEB SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“I don’t think we ought to leave father here 
alone,” suggested Phineas thoughtfully. “If 
any Indians should show up here we wouldn’t 
want him to be single-handed in trying to beat 
them off.” 

“A mighty lot of good Ben will do if you do 
leave him,” laughed Ich. “I think father is 
old enough to take care of himself and Ben 
and I really ought to go along to help you 
get just as many turkeys as we can bring 
back. ’ ’ 

“You won’t get a tail feather!” laughed 
Phin. “I’ve been hunting with you before. 
You’ll be so excited when you try to shoot that 
your shot will be more likely to hit the ground 
than the trees in which the turkeys may be 
roosting.” 

“Never mind that now,” retorted Ich. “If 
father agrees, we’ll put the salt in the barn and 
be ready to start with you and Big Joe in a 

jiffy.” 

As their father smiled and did not offer any 
objection to the younger lads joining the ex¬ 
pedition, the salt bags hastily were deposited 
in the barn and all four of the hunters speedily 
departed. 

“Now, no one is to speak a word,” said 
Phineas, as in single file the four hunters set 
forth toward the place where the hunter had 
36 


THE TURKEY HUNT 

said lie could show them “all the turkeys they 
wanted.’’ 

“I don’t know what you call what you your¬ 
self are doing now,” retorted Ich. “It seems 
to me you’re doing a lot of talking telling us 
not to talk.” 

Phineas laughed, for his younger brother was 
a prime favorite and in silence the four con¬ 
tinued on their way. The sun was now not 
more than a half hour high in the western sky. 
It was an ideal time, so Big Joe explained, to 
start on a turkey hunt. The turkeys soon 
would be finding their roosting places among 
the trees and would not yet have become quiet. 
There would be occasional calls from one tree 
to another as if the weary birds were telling 
one another that it was safe for them to go to 
sleep. 

When ten minutes had elapsed Big Joe, who 
was leading the way, stopped abruptly and in¬ 
dicated that the boys were to look to their prim¬ 
ing so that their guns would be ready for quick 
use when the occasion demanded. 

From this point, after Big Joe’s advice had 
been followed, the party advanced cautiously, 
striving to avoid all places where the fallen 
limbs of trees might snap beneath their feet 
and warn the turkeys of the approach of their 
enemies. 


37 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


They soon came to the border of the forest 
and Big Joe quietly led the way as he advanced 
toward a shallow valley. This valley was not 
much more than a defile which extended for 
several hundred feet within the forest. Beech 
trees were growing plentifully along the bor¬ 
ders and already the shadows had lengthened 
under the rays of the setting sun. 

When the party had advanced a hundred feet 
within the shelter, Big Joe raised his hand as a 
signal for all to halt. Leaving his companions 
the hunter then advanced cautiously and si¬ 
lently, moving from tree to tree until he no 
longer was seen by the boys. Silence followed 
his departure, while the young hunters waited 
impatiently for the return of their guide. 

Only a few minutes elapsed before the hunter 
emerged from the shadows and beckoned the 
boys to approach. By his direction they were 
spread out so that, although they advanced to¬ 
gether, there was an intervening space of six 
or eight feet between them. 

In this manner they carefully followed Big 
Joe who soon stopped and silently pointed up 
into the trees before him. 

At first, it was impossible for the young 
hunters to discern anything of special interest 
in the spreading branches above them. In a 
brief time, however, their eyes became accus- 
38 


THE TURKEY HUNT 


tomed to the dim light and they saw perched 
upon the branches of the trees numberless si¬ 
lent, motionless bodies, which, after a little, 
they concluded must be the turkeys to which 
the hunter referred. 

With a low whisper, Big Joe drew his com¬ 
panions together and then explained where and 
how each member of the party was to shoot. 
They all separated and took the positions 
assigned them by their leader and then, at 
a signal from him, they brought their guns 
to their shoulders and fired at the roosting 
turkeys. 

The reports of the guns rang out almost to¬ 
gether. Instantly there was a fluttering in the 
tree tops and several birds fell to the ground 
almost at the feet of the hunters, but many 
more, with twitterings and cries of alarm, flew 
from their resting places. 

Big Joe, who had not fired at the moment 
when his companions did, now brought his 
double-barreled shotgun to his shoulder and 
two quick reports were heard, followed by the 
sound of bodies tumbling through the branches 
to the ground. 

Quickly the entire party rushed forward to 
discover how many birds they had obtained. 

“ Here’s five!” declared Ich triumphantly, 
when he and Ben had brought the victims to a 
39 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


common pile. ‘ 4 Somebody must have shot two. 
I think I was lncky to get one.” 

“It was Big Joe that got two. Didn’t you 
hear him fire twice?” said Ben. 

“I believe I did hear his gun go off twice,” 
acknowledged Ich, whose excitement was still 
keen. “I didn’t know whether he got two 
birds or not.” 

“Hm,” exclaimed Ben. “You didn’t think 
Big Joe had missed his mark, did you?” 

“I didn’t know,” said Ich, laughing as he 
spoke. “It was so dark, I didn’t know but the 
turkey would get away.” 

“Well, five of them didn’t get away,” said 
Ben demurely. ‘ ‘ Shall we load up again ? ” he 
added, turning to the hunter as he spoke. 

“Not now,” replied Big Joe. “We’ve got 
enough to carry back to the cabin. We can 
dress these and salt them down and then get 
more if we want to. We mustn’t slaughter the 
wild game just for the sake of killing. I’ve 
seen some men catch so many turkeys in their 
traps that they couldn’t begin to use all they 
killed. It was just wanton slaughter. My 
opinion is that no man has a right to kill any¬ 
thing just for the sake of killing.” 

“How about mosquitoes?” demanded Ich. 
“Isn’t it all right to kill them?” 

“I’m talking about game,” replied Big Joe 
40 


THE TURKEY HUNT 


seriously. “I don’t mean little things like 
mosquitoes and gnats. Here, boys, take hold of 
these birds and we’ll carry them back.” 

The hunter had brought with him several 
leather thongs with which he tied two birds to¬ 
gether so that they might be adjusted to the 
shoulders of the man who was to carry them. 
He himself assumed the double load and left 
his companions to carry one turkey each. 

In a brief time they arrived at the house they 
were seeking and were hailed by Mr. Taylor, 
who said, “You weren’t gone long, boys.” 

“We didn’t have to go very far,” exclaimed 
Ich. “The woods are full of them.” 

“We had better clean and dress these birds 
now,” said the hunter. “They’re in prime 
condition, too. They’ve had all the acorns and 
beechnuts they could eat and they ought to have 
a fine flavor.” 

“It doesn’t seem to me quite right to leave 
all these turkeys until next winter,” suggested 
Ich soberly. “I wouldn’t mind having one 
to-morrow.” 

“You shall have one to-morrow,” said the 
hunter. “We’ll pluck them all and draw every 
one and get them ready for salting. How much 
salt did you get?” he inquired turning to 
Phineas. 

“Why, we must have a hundred and fifty 
41 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


pounds. It was a good-sized job to get it, too. 
When you think that it takes eight hundred 
gallons of that salt water to make fifty pounds 
of salt, youVe got to figure on allowing a good 
while for it to boil down. Salt is worth money, 
too, these days.” 

“How much is it worth?” inquired Ich. 

“Eight dollars a bushel at the settlement.” 

“I don’t see how it concerns you whatever 
its price is,” laughed Phin. 

“I’m for making some money,” said Ich. 
“We shot a wolf while you were gone and Big 
Joe says the bounty is four dollars and that 
the Ohio Company is adding something to 
that.” 

“That’s right,” laughed Phin. “Tell us 
where you got the wolf and who shot him?” 

Ich eagerly related the story of their exploits 
and told how three bullets had been found in 
the body of the wolf after it fell. Then he 
said, “Big Joe won’t take his share of the 
bounty, so Ben and I will have two dollars 
apiece anyway.” 

“That’ll buy a lot of things,” laughed his 
older brother, “but I shouldn’t spend the 
money until I got the bounty.” 

There was still sufficient light in the early 
evening to enable the party to prepare the 
turkeys which they had brought back to the 
42 


THE TURKEY HUNT 


house. The birds were fat and Ich repeatedly 
referred to his expressed wish that one at least 
might be served on the following day. There 
were still four to be prepared for the pickle- 
barrel and as there were five working, the task 
was soon completed. 

To make sure that his own suggestion would 
be followed, Ich selected one of the larger 
turkeys and, leaving the others in a tub which 
was filled with water, he carried his bird into 
the house and hung it up near the kitchen 
fireplace. 

“It’s strange,’’ laughed Phin, when his 
brother rejoined the party, “how some people 
are always thinking of what they can get to 
eat.” 

“That’s right for me, anyway,” declared Ich 
boldly. “I don’t seem ever to be able to get 
enough to eat. Sometimes when I get up from 
the table, I’m almost as hungry as when I first 
sat down. ’ ’ 

“You’ll get over that,” said Ben, “when 
you’re a little older. Your appetite will last 
you for a year or two more and then—” 

“And then what?” interrupted Ich. “I 
don’t see that I eat any more than some other 
folks I know.” 

“I don’t know how you can see how much 
other people eat,” laughed Phin. “I never 
43 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


see you stop long enough at the table to look 
at anything except your plate, unless it was at 
something you wanted to put on the plate .’ 7 

“That will do for you!” said Ich, making as 
if he would upset his older brother. “I’m the 
youngest so I have to put up with everything. ’ ’ 

“You certainly are a martyr to the cause,” 
laughed Phin. “I don’t know that I ever saw 
a preacher out here that was quite as solemn 
as you are.” 

“That’s all right,” retorted Ich. “You 
wait till the year has gone. I mean the one 
you’re talking about when I shall get through 
eating so much and then I’ll be pretty nearly 
grown up. When that comes, I promise you 
the first thing I do will be to put you on your 
back. ’ ’ 

“It will take you more than a year to do 
that,” said Ben, so solemnly that all laughed. 

It was now dark and as Phin and his father 
were tired from their long ride and the labors 
which they had undergone they decided to seek 
their beds at once. The two younger boys 
halted near the corner of the house where the 
huge barrel had been placed to catch the rain 
as it dripped from the roof. Here they took 
a wooden bowl and filled it with water and 
then thoroughly washed their faces and hands, 
a duty which had been taught them by their 
44 


THE TURKEY HUNT 


mother years before they had left their Massa¬ 
chusetts home. Even then the younger boys 
lingered, suspicious that the older ones might 
not follow them to bed. Their thoughts, how¬ 
ever, were soon gone and in a brief time silence 
rested over the lonely little cabin. 

Several times during the night, Phin and his 
father, as well as Big Joe, arose and going out¬ 
side the house listened intently and peered in 
every direction to discover whether or not the 
trailing Shawnees were near the place. 

When morning came not an Indian had been 
seen and the fears of the household were some¬ 
what relieved. 

Phin had not told his younger brothers all 
the reports which he had heard on their return 
from the Salt Licks. It was plain that, al¬ 
though the Indians had been active during the 
summer, their attacks being upon lonely set¬ 
tlers, their efforts now were increasing. The 
failure to withstand the red warriors in battle 
had greatly encouraged the Indians who now 
believed they were well nigh invincible. They 
were led, too, by several chiefs who were 
leaders of no mean ability. Perhaps the ablest 
of them all was Little Turtle, a Shawnee chief, 
who, sooner than the boys dreamed, was to 
show them that their fears of hostilities were 
well grounded. 


CHAPTER IV 

THE YOUNG HUNTERS 

T HE days following the return of Phineas 
and his father were busy ones for all 
the boys. Big Joe had been compelled 
to depart, as he was serving as one of the 
cordon of guards for one of the larger block¬ 
houses. Every blockhouse now had several of 
these hunters, or spies as they sometimes were 
called, whose duties were to inspect carefully 
the adjoining region in a search for the possible 
approach of their foes. At times these guards 
covered twenty-five or thirty miles each day as 
they scoured the region for signs of the ap¬ 
proach of the Indians. To every one a specific 
territory was allotted and he was held respon¬ 
sible for danger that might be discovered in 
that region. 

Big Joe had obtained a leave of absence for 
two or three days but the time had now ex¬ 
pired and he was about to return to his regular 
duties. 

In addition to the work of these spies in 
watching for signs of their enemies they were 
46 


THE YOUNGr HUNTERS 


also expected to provide at least part of the 
meat that was needed in the blockhouse. As 
the fall was now approaching and most of the 
labor in the fields had been completed, there 
would be more men free to engage in a task 
similar to that with which the hunter and his 
friends were now busy. 

“ Good-by, Big Joe !” called Ich as the hunter 
departed early in the morning. “We’ll see 
you again soon.” 

Big Joe nodded his head but made no other 
response to the farewell of his friends. Si¬ 
lently he proceeded toward the forest not far 
away and in a brief time disappeared from the 
sight of those who had been watching him. 

‘ 4 That must be great work,” said Ich en¬ 
thusiastically. “I wonder if I’m not old 
enough to be a spy myself. ’ ’ 

“You surely are not,” retorted Ben. 
“You’re just old enough to help in salting 
down these turkeys. Phin and father have left 
that job to you and me and the sooner we begin 
it the better it will be for us all.” 

“But we’ll want more turkeys than we’ve got 
now,” suggested Ich. 

“So we shall,” admitted his brother, “but 
the first thing is to take care of those we al¬ 
ready have killed.” 

The boys at once proceeded to the bank of 
47 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


the river and drew forth the tub of turkey meat 
which had been covered and left in the water 
throughout the night. 

The task of salting down these turkeys was 
not a difficult one, for both boys had been 
warned to be frugal in the use of the salt, an 
article which was so scarce that every particle 
must be used and all waste avoided. 

An hour afterward their elder brother 
Phineas came to inspect the work and com¬ 
plimented both boys on the completion of their 
task. “We ’ll have to try for some more tur¬ 
keys,” he suggested. “They won’t be here a 
great while and I wonder if it might not be a 
good thing for us to get some of the gray squir¬ 
rels too?” 

These squirrels were so plentiful that it had 
not occurred to either Ich or Ben that they 
might be used as a source of food for the com¬ 
ing winter days. 

“I never saw so many squirrels in my life,” 
exclaimed Phin, “as I did yesterday. On our 
way home we saw a cornfield up the river that 
was just alive with them. That was bad 
enough, but when we went on to the creek we 
found the water filled with them. There must 
have been millions.” 

“What were they doing? Where were they 
going?” inquired Ich, interested in a mo- 
48 


THE YOUNG HUNTERS 


ment in the description his brother had given. 

“I haven’t found any one who seems to 
know,” said Phin, “but there were millions of 
them. John Chapman told me that he had seen 
thousands swimming in the river and when 
they got in a cornfield they didn’t leave it until 
it was stripped absolutely bare.” 

“Where do you think they’re going, Phin?” 
asked Ben. 

“Why, they’re probably going south, trying 
to get rid of the winter. They used to tell 
about the squirrels gathering up the nuts and 
getting ready for cold weather. I suppose 
some of them do that now, but those that we 
saw were certainly moving pretty fast.” 

“I thought you said they were in the corn¬ 
field,” suggested Ich. 

“If you had listened with the whole length 
of both your ears, Ich,” said his brother sol¬ 
emnly, “you would have heard me say we saw 
thousands of them in a cornfield and that later 
we saw a good many more swimming across 
the creek.” 

“That’s all right,” laughed Ich. “But what 
about these turkeys?” 

“There isn’t much use in our trying to get 
any right now,” explained Phin. “We’d bet¬ 
ter do as Big Joe did and wait until sunset.” 

“But Big Joe said that lots of people were 
49 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


catching them in traps. He said, too, that a 
good many people were knocking them down 
with clubs, there were so many of the birds in 
the woods.” 

“You and Ben can go out and set some 
snares if you want to. There isn’t very much 
to do around the place to-day and then when 
it comes night we can take our guns and go out 
and get some of those you haven’t caught. Of 
course,” he added laughingly, “there won’t be 
many that get away, but then we don’t want to 
waste turkey meat with the winter coming on, 
so we’ll work both plans.” 

Eagerly the two boys accepted the sugges¬ 
tion and taking their shotguns and a ball of 
slight but very strong leathern string, some of 
which had been made from the sinews of deer, 
they started together for the place where the 
preceding evening their efforts had met with 
such surprising success. 

When they arrived at the place they were 
seeking, they took the small bag of corn which 
they had brought with them and carefully ar¬ 
ranged three or four kernels in one spot, select¬ 
ing a bank where it would be necessary for the 
turkeys to lift up their heads in order to obtain 
the tempting grain. On the ground beneath 
they spread their nooses of deer-sinew to which 
a string several feet in length had been at- 
50 


THE YOUNG HUNTERS 


tached and securely fastened to a nearby tree. 
They were expecting that a turkey, attracted 
by the sight of the grain, in his efforts to reach 
it, would step within the noose and then as he 
moved would draw the cord tightly about his 
leg. 

The boys were busy for two hours or more 
arranging their traps along a bank by which 
they thought the turkeys would come back to 
the roosting places which they had found the 
preceding evening. 

“You don’t suppose we scared them off, do 
you, Ben?” inquired Ich. “You see we fired 
right into the trees last night and they may not 
come back here again to roost.” 

“Don’t you worry about that,” retorted Ben 
confidently. “A turkey hasn’t any bigger 
brain than a hen. There isn’t any such fool 
animal in the woods as a turkey. Do you know, 
I think a turkey is a bigger fool than a hen and 
that seems almost impossible.” 

“There is another animal,” laughed Ich, 
“that hasn’t as much brains as a turkey.” 

“What’s that?” 

“It’s a sheep. I think the sheep is the big¬ 
gest fool among all the animals.” 

“How about a hog?” 

“Oh, a hog is smart. I saw a pig that Sam 
Brookins had trained and it would do all sorts 
51 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


of tricks. It would march around on its hind 
feet and carry a little wooden gun and squeal 
when Sam asked it if it wanted any swill. A 
hog is smart, but a sheep! Ba-a-a-a, that’s 
about all they know. It’s all the language they 
have and all the words they can speak.” 

“Sometimes sheep can do a lot of damage.” 

“How? What do you mean?” 

“They can knock a man right off of his 
pins.” 

“I never saw one do it,” laughed Ich. 

“No, but you had one do it to you.” 

“I did? When?” 

“Why, before we left Massachusetts. You 
were a little fellow and father had a big, ugly 
ram that had the biggest horns I ever saw on 
a sheep. The fellow was ugly too, and they 
used to keep him in a pen. One day you 
climbed over into the pen and the old fellow 
started for you and he pretty nearly got you.” 

“Why? What did he do?” 

“Why, he caught you right off your feet and 
must have thrown you ten feet before you 
struck the ground. Then he backed up and 
would have rammed the life out of your body if 
father hadn’t come along just then and beat 
him off with a club.” 

“I don’t remember anything about it,” said 
Ich. 


52 


THE YOUNG HUNTERS 


“You were just a little fellow at the time.” 

“Yes, but how big were you? You’re only 
two years older than I am.” 

“I was just old enough to remember you.” 

“Were you in the pen, too?” 

“Yes, I was,” acknowledged Ben. “You 
and I both climbed over the board fence—” 

“Yes, and you probably were the one that 
got me into the thing,” interrupted Ich. “I 
wouldn’t get into that kind of mischief if I was 
left to myself.” 

“It doesn’t make any difference who began 
it. I hollered louder than you did and I guess 
it was lucky for you that I did. If father 
hadn’t heard me that old ram would have 
pounded the life out of both of us.” 

“Well, Ben,” said Ich demurely, “you al¬ 
ways were a noisy chap and I can just see you 
almost hollering your head off, you were so 
scared.” 

“I’ll own up I was scared,” acknowledged 
Ben, “but I don’t think I was ever very noisy.” 

As Ben was notoriously quiet in his manner 
and seldom spoke, Ich laughed aloud at the 
solemn statement of his demure brother. 

“There!” exclaimed Ben. “At last we’ve 
used up all our string and we must have set 
twenty traps.” 

“Yes, we’ve set all of that,” assented Ich, 
53 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


* 1 and now I’m thinking it’ll be a good thing 
for us to go home and get something to eat. 
I’m hungry .’ 9 

“You always are,” said Ben simply. 

“I’ll own up to that,” laughed Ich. “Those 
are the two words in the English language I’ve 
practiced on more than any others and I think 
I can say them just as they ought to be said.” 

The boys stopped for a moment before they 
departed and peered into the adjacent forest. 
They had not seen a turkey since their arrival, 
but they were not surprised because, at that 
time of the day, doubtless the birds were all 
farther within the forest and hidden from the 
sight of prowling beasts or passing men. It 
was marvelous the skill with which a mother 
turkey concealed her brood. It was almost im¬ 
possible for a hunter to distinguish between 
the little turkeys that, at the warning note of 
the mother bird, had fled for shelter beneath the 
leaves that strewed the ground. At this time 
the turkeys were well grown, however, but their 
skill in evading the eyes of enemies was even 
greater than when they were smaller. 

“They come here about sundown,” sug¬ 
gested Ich. “At least that’s what they did 
last night and that was the time Big Joe told 
us to look for them if we wanted to shoot any. ’ ’ 

“We’ll come back here after supper,” as- 
54 


THE YOUNG HUNTERS 


sented Ben, “and maybe we’ll have more 
turkeys than we can carry back to the 
cabin. ’’ 

At dusk not only the two younger boys but 
Phin and their father, each with a shotgun in 
hand, started toward the place where the traps 
had been set and hoped they would find flocks 
of turkeys perched upon the boughs of the 
beech trees in the roosting places they had se¬ 
lected for the night. 

“If there are any birds in your noose,” sug¬ 
gested Phin, “we’d better leave them until we 
do our shooting.” 

“Of course, that’s the way,” assented Ich. 
“Did you think we wanted to scare all the birds 
off their roosts?” 

“No, I didn’t. But then I never know just 
what you youngsters are going to do,” said 
Phin. 

“We’re not so much younger than you,” 
protested Ich. “I’m fifteen, Ben’s seventeen 
and you’re not nineteen yet. You’re not as 
old as you will be if you live a year or two 
longer.” 

“I haven’t denied that,” laughed Phin. 

“No,” retorted his younger brother, “but 
you talk like the preacher when he comes here- 
on his round. He used to pat me on the head 
and tell me he hoped I would be a good little 
55 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


boy. I didn’t like to have him do that and I 
don’t like it when yon try to pat me on the head, 
either. ’ ’ 

All three of his companions laughed at the 
words of the boy and Phin said, “I’d almost 
forgotten yon were such a big fellow, Ich. It 
won’t be very long now before you’ll be a man 
and I reckon I’d better begin to practice talking 
to yon now so that you’ll understand me when 
you are grown up.” 

A warning from their father who was leading 
the way at this moment caused all three of the 
boys to become silent. 

As they listened they heard an occasional 
gobble from the nearby trees which indicated 
that the turkeys had not been so thoroughly 
frightened the preceding evening that they had 
failed to return to their roosting places. 

Advancing cautiously within the border the 
hunters soon were able to discern the dark 
forms of the birds resting on the limbs of the 
trees above them. Then it was that Phin whis¬ 
pered to his companions to follow the plan 
adopted by the hunter the night before, and di¬ 
recting each of the boys to select a bird as his 
own target and to shoot in such a manner that 
only one fired at each bird, he gave the word 
for them to fire. 

Together the reports of the guns rang out 
56 


THE YOUNG HUNTERS 


and once more several bodies came tumbling 
from the perches in the trees. 

As the boys ran quickly forward to make cer¬ 
tain of their victims they laughed aloud when 
they discovered that near by were several tur¬ 
keys that had been caught in the snares that 
had been set for them. 

When at last all the bodies of the turkeys had 
been secured and thrown into one pile the boys 
quickly wrung the necks of the birds that had 
been caught, and then they found that they had 
nine turkeys to carry back to the cabin. As 
some of them were quite large the load of each 
hunter was heavy and when they at last ar¬ 
rived at the house they threw the birds 
upon the ground and Ich loudly and volubly 
expressed his relief that he could get rid of his 
burden. 

“I think that’ll be all we’ll want,” said Phin. 
“We may want a turkey to eat right now but I 
think we’ve got about all we want for the 
winter. We can’t eat just turkeys and we now 
have fifteen or twenty altogether. ’ ’ 

“I don’t think that’s very much,” protested 
Ich. “I’m so hungry right now that I think I 
could eat almost a whole one myself. They 
aren’t so very big, Phin.” 

“All right,” laughed his older brother. 
“We’ll salt these down and then we can tell 
57 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


better whether we need any more or not. It 
wouldn’t take very long for us to cloy on 
turkeys.” 

“I’m not so sure about that,” said Ich so 
demurely that all his companions laughed. 

The following morning was another busy one 
for the members of the household as the tur¬ 
keys must be plucked and drawn and then thor¬ 
oughly washed and prepared for salting and 
packing away in the tubs. 

When at last this task had been completed, 
at Ich’s earnest plea they repeated their hunt 
and secured six more turkeys. Both Phin and 
his father now declared that it would be a 
shame to slaughter any more of the birds and 
consequently the hunt was abandoned. 

Meanwhile the amount of fish was increased 
and the trot line which was set two nights in 
succession brought in a large catch each time. 
Indeed it did not seem possible that hunger 
could invade the log cabin even if the winter 
should be severe and unduly prolonged. There 
was cornmeal which had been made by grind¬ 
ing the corn in a hand mill. This was a difficult 
task and tested the endurance of the boys who 
were called upon for the labor. It was while 
Ich and Ben were both engaged in this task 
that the former said, “Do you know what I’m 
going to do, Ben?” 


58 


THE YOUNG HUNTERS 


“No,” replied his brother as he continued his 
wearying task. 

“I’m going in for one of those floating mills. 
You know they’re talking about building one 
and then taking it up and down the river and 
letting it do the grinding for anybody that 
wants it all along the shore.” 

“They haven’t tried it yet. When there’s 
corn enough I think the easiest way is to take 
it up to Gordon’s mill and let him grind it.” 

“Yes, but that’s a day’s job,” protested Ich. 

“What of it?” 

“Nothing except that it takes all day,” 
laughed Ich. “The other plan means that the 
mill comes right to your door and all you have 
to do is to stop it, bring on your corn and in a 
little while you’ve got your grist and the work 
is all done.” 

“Some think that they never can make a 
floating mill work,” suggested Ben. 

“They can’t tell till they try, that’s one 
thing sure,” declared Ich. “Some folks are 
always scared out before they begin anything.” 

“Better be that,” retorted Ben, “than get 
into so many things you can’t do.” 

“I don’t believe that,” said Ich quickly. 
“Who’s that coming yonder?” he inquired 
quickly, as he turned toward the rough path¬ 
way that emerged from the woods. 

59 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 

4 1 It’s Captain Rogers,’’ said Ben in a low 
voice. “ There are one, two, three, four men 
with him. What do you suppose he wants 
now? He’s supposed to be one of the spies, 
isn’t he?” 

Ich did not reply but his eyes were shining 
with excitement as he watched the approach of 
the little band with doughty Captain Rogers, 
who marched at its head. 


CHAPTER V 

THE PLAN OF CAPTAIN ROGERS 


I T was at once manifest to Ich who was 
shrewdly observing the visitors, that Cap¬ 
tain Rogers was greatly distressed and 
perplexed. Upon the invitation of Mr. Taylor 
the entire company seated themselves beneath 
the great maple trees that were growing in 
abundance between the cabin and the fields at 
the right of the little building. It was now late 
in the afternoon and the sun was only a half- 
hour or more above the western horizon. Al¬ 
ready there was a tang in the air which indi¬ 
cated the coming of the night, when the warm 
day would give place to the cooler breezes which 
then swept up the valley. 

Ich and Ben were interested observers of 
their elders and in silence took their places just 
outside the band. They were able to hear all 
that was said and, although they were deeply 
interested, it was well understood that their 
part in the conference was to be silence and 
silence only. 

“I’ve come to see you, neighbor,” said Cap- 
61 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


tain Rogers solemnly, “ because something 
must be done. No longer is it safe for our set¬ 
tlers along the banks of the river.’’ 

“Have you had any more bad news?” in¬ 
quired Mr. Taylor. 

“Yes, and plenty of it,” replied the captain 
solemnly. “A couple of boys were masisacred 
up the valley only yesterday. The Indians 
are busy everywhere. "We know of nearly a 
hundred whites that have been killed within 
the last two or three months.” 

There was silence for a moment as the words 
of the Captain were heard and then Phin spoke 
up eagerly and said, “Captain Rogers, what 
do you advise? What’s the best thing we can 
do? I’ve sometimes thought I ought to join 
the rangers.” 

“Never mind that now, Phin,” said Captain 
Rogers. “We must consider the best plans for 
protecting our people at once.” 

“What do you suggest?” inquired Mr. 
Taylor. 

“I’m thinking that our best plan will be to 
put up a blockhouse fort. I Ve been thinking it 
over and working out some of the plans. If 
thirty or forty families can get together, the 
men folk can haul the timbers for the cabins 
and the palisades and it won’t take very long 
to build such a place as I have in mind.” 

62 


THE PLAN OF CAPTAIN ROGERS 


4 4 Have you found a good location? Where is 
the best place ?” 

“ There’s a place not very far away, up the 
river on a bluff. Right behind the place there’s 
a swamp which would protect it from the rear. 
The river is in front and the bluff is right on 
the bank. We can build some palisades in 
front of the place, letting them slope so that it 
would be hid if any Indians should come to the 
Tiver. ’’ 

“Well, what’s on the sides of the place, Cap¬ 
tain Rogers?” asked Phin. 

“The trees are thick and fairly large on one 
side and the other side is open. I don’t believe 
the trees would bother us, but even if they 
should provide some hiding places for the red¬ 
skins the spot is the most likely one I’ve 
found.” 

“When do you think we ought to begin?” in¬ 
quired Phin. 

“Just as soon as we can get enough of the 
pioneers to agree to the plan. I’m working on 
that now, and going from one place to another. 
I’m planning to spend the night with you and 
go on in the morning. Just as soon as I’ve re¬ 
ceived the consent of the people I want, then 
we’ll be ready to begin operations.” 

All three boys were soon busy preparing the 
evening meal. The addition of unexpected 
63 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


visitors made somewhat of a draft upon their 
provisions hut the feeling of hospitality was 
keen along the valley. A visitor was not only 
rare, hut welcome. In the case of Captain 
Rogers, who was one of the men most deeply 
respected in all the region, there was an added 
pleasure in having him as a guest, especially 
when his visit was due to such a serious report 
as he had made. 

The following morning the doughty old 
soldier, who was an intensely religious man, in¬ 
sisted that all should assemble while he con¬ 
ducted morning worship. They sang a fa¬ 
miliar hymn and the Captain read from the 
Bible, reading first a chapter from the Old 
Testament then following it by one from the 
New. To this he added a Psalm, and he did not 
select one of the shorter ones for his purpose. 
This in turn was followed by a long prayer of¬ 
fered by the Captain while his audience were 
devoutly kneeling about him. Altogether 
nearly an hour was consumed in the morn¬ 
ing devotions. Ich winked meaningly at his 
brother Ben, but the latter did not respond, and 
it was plain that all had been impressed by the 
devout feelings and serious purposes of Cap¬ 
tain Rogers. 

Several weeks elapsed before Captain Rogers 
again appeared at the clearing. This time he 
64 


THE PLAN OF CAPTAIN ROGERS 


came alone and, after a brief report, departed. 

“We have arranged," explained the Cap¬ 
tain, “for putting up a place of defense and 
refuge at the spot I told you about when I was 
here before. We have decided to call it 
Farmers' Castle. There will be room for be¬ 
tween two and three hundred people, including 
the children, and I want to show you just what 
we are planning to do in building it." 

“When do you expect to begin?" 

“We've had an assembly of all the men we 
can muster at Captain Jonathan Stone's block¬ 
house. Last Tuesday we decided that we 
would collect about thirty families along the 
river and have them all live in Farmers' Castle. 
The place I have selected, you know, is the 
Middle Settlement, where Colonel Cushing and 
Colonel Battelle already have big log houses. 
The place will be a good one for us to make our 
roads in and, if we work as hard as we ought 
to, we'll have it in good shape in a very short 
time." 

“We must work hard and fast," suggested 
Mr. Taylor. < ‘ Our very lives may depend upon 
it." 

“Yes, that’s true," said Captain Rogers 
solemnly. “I don’t think many realize in what 
a dangerous situation we are placed. The In¬ 
dians are becoming steadily worse and are 
65 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


more and more determined to drive all the 
whites out of this part of Ohio. I haven’t 
shown you just what our plans are,” he added, 
as he drew from his pocket a large paper on 
which he had roughly sketched the location of 
the various buildings and streets in what was 
to be known as Farmers’ Castle. 

He indicated where thirteen blockhouses were 
to be built within the inclosure. These houses 
were to be erected in two rows with a wide 
street between. The basement of each house 
was to be twenty feet square and its upper 
story twenty-two feet square. By having the 
higher part project slightly over the lower, he 
explained, a guard might be established there 
which would be able to shoot directly down 
upon any Indians that might attack the block¬ 
houses or try to batter down the walls. 

He said also that the houses were to be built 
of logs—each log to be about one foot in di¬ 
ameter. After the buildings had been erected 
the chinks between the logs were to be filled in 
with mortar. Doors and window shutters were 
to be made of thick oak planks, and stout bars 
of oak or hickory were also to be made and kept 
in reserve in every house so that in case of 
an attack the doors might be doubly protected. 

There were several yoke of oxen owned by 
different settlers and it was explained that 
66 


THE PLAN OF CAPTAIN ROGERS 


every family was expected to bring these oxen 
for drawing the larger timbers from the nearby 
forest. In this manner the trees at the right 
of Farmers’ Castle would be cut down and 
the space left open in order that none of the 
Shawnees might approach without being dis¬ 
covered. 

“ We ’ll have handsleds for drawing the small 
timbers,” continued Captain Rogers, 4 ‘and if 
by any chance we have some snow, that will 
help us to work all the faster and bring in the 
timbers that we need. We’ll have pickets set 
around the place. We’ll use only quartered 
oak for the pickets and I’ve figured out that 
there are enough trees growing on the plain 
near the place to give us all we shall need. 
We’ll pick out the trees that are about a foot 
in diameter and the pickets ought to be at least 
fourteen feet long. We’ll set them four feet in 
the ground and that will leave the palisade 
about ten feet high. We’ll have the smooth 
sides set outward and that will make it harder 
for any one to climb over them. We’ll have to 
strengthen these palisades by using tree-nails 
and ribbands.” 

“What’ll you do between the houses?” in¬ 
quired Phin, who was deeply interested in the 
project of their visitor. 

“We’ll fill in the space between, the houses 
67 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


with pickets just the same as we have in the 
palisades. Only, on those that reach out over 
the bank of the river, we’ll have them sloping 
and projecting in such a way that the Indians 
can’t climb up them.” 

“What about your gates?” inquired Mr. 
Taylor. 

“My plan,” explained the captain, as he 
pointed with his finger toward the plans be¬ 
fore him, “is to have gates of the heaviest kind 
of timber, one at the east end and the other at 
the west end. We’ll have those fitted out with 
heavy oak or hickory bars the same as we have 
planned for the doors. We’ll have two or three 
smaller gates on the river side.” 

“Why on that side?” asked Phin quickly. 

“So that in case of fire or of a sudden at¬ 
tack if it should become necessary to try to 
get away, we can get out of Farmers ’ Castle on 
to the river and perhaps get a good start be¬ 
fore the redskins know that we have left. I’m 
not expecting anything like that to happen but 
we have to plan for everything.” 

‘ ‘ How large will Farmers ’ Castle be with all 
these palisades and walls?” inquired Mr. 
Taylor. 

“The whole space will be about eighty rods 
by sixty. If my plans are carried out, it will 
be quite an imposing little fortress. It will 
68 


THE PLAN OF CAPTAIN ROGERS 


stand up high on the bluff and can be seen far 
down the river.” 

“What about the animals we’ve got!” in¬ 
quired Phin. 

i ‘ The animals like the pigs and the cows that 
are within half or three-quarters of a mile of 
Farmers ’ Castle can be left and will have to 
take their chance. I plan for parties of men to 
go out every morning to feed such stock, but 
when the spies bring in any report of unusual 
danger, we ’ll drive all the stock inside the pali¬ 
sades. Then we can shut and bar the gates and 
perhaps be as safe or safer than we would be 
anywhere else.” 

“Are you sure you have provided room 
enough for two hundred people?” 

“Yes, and a few more,” replied the captain 
confidently. “On the rear of the corner block¬ 
house, which we plan to have a little higher 
than the others, we are going to have a watch 
tower about eight feet above the roof. We’ll 
plan to have a sentry stationed there all the 
time, day and night.” 

“I think you’ll have to do more than have 
sentries,” suggested Mr. Taylor. “With so 
many people together you will have to have a 
regular police force just like a besieged fort.” 

“That’s exactly what we expect to do,” said 
the Captain quickly. “We are going to have 
69 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


a roll call by the orderly sergeant every morn¬ 
ing at sunrise. If any man fails to answer or 
oversleeps himself and isn’t on hand, we have 
fixed a penalty that he shall work all day help¬ 
ing to cut out the stumps in the middle of 
Farmers’ Castle, so that the ground will be 
level. The stumps will be pretty thick there 
when we first go in. ’ ’ 

“Have you got a flag?” asked Phin. 

“We’ll have a flag,” answered Captain 
Rogers. “My plan calls for a flagstaff near the 
west end of the fortress. Near by it, we’ll 
have a large iron howitzer, mounted on a plat¬ 
form, and when it is encased in wood, it will 
look like a regular six-pounder. We’ll have 
that gun fired regularly, every night and every 
morning. One can hear it if he is several 
miles away for the echoes there are wonder¬ 
ful.” 

“If the Indians hear it,” suggested Ich, who 
could no longer restrain his interest, “they 
won’t be likely to come near the place.” 

Captain Rogers smiled at the words of the 
impulsive boy but ignoring his suggestion said, 
“Around the cannon we’ll plan to have our 
regular meeting place. There the men can talk 
and the women can gossip and we can all hear 
the reports which the spies will bring in every 
day. There’s where we’ll tell and learn the 
70 


THE PLAN OF CAPTAIN ROGERS 


news. That will be our place to rally in case 
we are attacked. The officer of the day must 
inspect the gates, pickets, etc., and his author¬ 
ity must be absolute.’’ 

“What about supplies?” inquired Mr. Tay¬ 
lor. 

“Every one must bring all he has. We’ll 
have a day for slaughtering all the hogs that 
are fat and then we’ll cure the hams and salt 
them.” 

“We’ve got a lot of fish and turkeys that we 
have salted down,” broke in Ich once more, 
who was unable to remain silent. 

“That will be excellent,” said the Captain. 
“You must bring all you have.” 

“We’ll do it,” said Ich enthusiastically, ris¬ 
ing as he spoke as if he were preparing at that 
moment to enter upon the task. 

“In the upper room of every house,” ex¬ 
plained the Captain, “we’ll have a large cask 
or hogshead put and one of our rules will be 
that it must be kept filled with water all the 
time. We’ll have to guard against fire almost 
as rigidly as against attacks by the redskins. 
One of our strictest rules will have to be that 
no grain or fodder shall be kept near any of 
the houses.” 


CHAPTER VI 


PURSUED BY WOLVES 

T HE interest of his listeners in the plan 
which Captain Rogers clearly set be¬ 
fore his hearers was keen, and it was 
difficult for Ich to restrain his desire to take 
part in the conversation. Several times the 
lad interrupted either his father or the Captain, 
hut both men were so deeply concerned that the 
lack of respect on the part of the boy was 
ignored. 

“We have planned to have an officer of the 
day,” explained Captain Rogers. “It will be 
his duty in part to inspect the gates, look after 
the pickets and have general charge of the 
Castle. We’ll have to make his authority ab¬ 
solute.” 

“I should like to be officer of the day,” 
laughed Ich. 

“You’ll have enough to do to keep yourself 
where you belong,” retorted Ben. 

“Captain Rogers, how old does a boy have to 
be before he’ll be counted among the men who 
are going to fight for Farmers’ Castle?” asked 
Ich. 


72 


PURSUED BY WOLVES 


“We expect to have every boy of sixteen or 
older enrolled and he will become a part of 
the force that will fight when it becomes nec¬ 
essary^ ’ 

“That onght to take me in,” exclaimed Ich. 
“I’m fifteen and shall be sixteen my next birth¬ 
day. ’ ’ 

“As that is only eleven months and six days 
away,” said his elder brother dryly, “a little 
thing like that won’t count very much.” 

“Never you mind that,” retorted Ich. “I’m 
in my sixteenth year and Captain Rogers will 
let me enroll. I know he will.” 

As he spoke, Phin turned eagerly to the 
doughty soldier and the faint trace of a smile 
on his face betrayed the interest, as well as 
amusement of the Captain. “We’ll settle that 
matter later,” he said at last quietly. 

“But I don’t want to settle it later,” per¬ 
sisted Ich. “I want to know right now. I’m 
big enough and strong enough—” 

“And when you get to be old enough,” broke 
in Phin, “you’ll be able to serve in the fighting 
forces.” 

“I am big enough and strong enough now,” 
retorted Ich, “and I intend to do my part.” 

“Well, we’ll see! We’ll see!” said the Cap¬ 
tain exchanging a smiling glance with the 
father of the boys. “I want to go on and ex- 
73 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 

plain a little more about what we are planning 
to do at Farmers’ Castle and then I’ll leave 
you to your work. I’m thinking that the great¬ 
est danger we shall have will come when our 
men are at work. When they go out into the 
fields in the spring and summer, they’ll have 
to go in companies. Some of the clearings will 
be at least three miles away, though there’ll 
be a good many close by. I think we’ll have 
to send fifteen or twenty men at a time and do 
the work on the clearings in that way. We’ll 
have sentries stationed at every point so that 
it won’t be possible for the redskins to creep 
up on our forces and attack them when they 
are busily at work.” 

“ There ’ll be more danger still when these 
parties are coming or going from the Castle,” 
suggested Phin. 

“You are correct,” admitted Captain Rogers, 
“but we have provided also for that. We shall 
have flanking parties on the lookout for signs 
of the Indians.” 

When Captain Rogers at last departed, the 
excitement which he had aroused still continued 
and it was unduly late at night before the boys 
retired. Their minds were filled with the 
prospect of a great gathering at Farmers’ 
Castle and, though much of the work of erect¬ 
ing the defense was still to be done, both Ben 
74 


PURSUED BY WOLVES 


and Ich were acting as if the fortress had be¬ 
come an established fact. 

Several weeks later, after numerous confer¬ 
ences had been held, the work of erecting 
Farmers’ Castle was taken in hand so vigor¬ 
ously that it progressed rapidly. A force of 
at least forty men was busily at work from 
sunrise until the close of day. Every one wha 
owned an ox team contributed his labor, as well 
as that of the oxen, to the task. Logs of the 
size described by Captain Rogers in his inter¬ 
view were hauled and rapidly fashioned into 
shape for timbers and beams or for palisades 
that were to protect the Castle from an ap¬ 
proach from the river. 

It was the first of the year when at last the 
families moved in. The excitement among the 
people was great and led to some confusion. 
However, after a brief time, the families settled 
into the various blockhouses or log huts that 
had been assigned them and the life of the 
Castle took on the regular form that had been 
designed for protection from the Indians. 

One of the earliest occupations had been 
slaughtering the hogs that had been fatted. 
This slaughter was in common. Every one 
possessing any animals contributed his part to¬ 
ward the supply of meat that would be needed 
before the winter should pass. The meat of 
75 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


the slaughtered hogs was hung up in smoke¬ 
houses that had been erected near the garret. 

One night, however, the entire force was 
startled by the cry of “fire.” When Ich and 
Phin leaped from their bed and hastily donned 
their clothing and joined the assembly in the 
center of the Castle, they discovered that fire 
had accidentally broken out in one of the smoke¬ 
houses. Afterward it was found that the man 
in charge had been careless and had not com¬ 
pletely extinguished the fire which had been 
kindled in the corn cobs that had been used in 
smoking the hams. 

In spite of the efforts of the inmates of the 
Castle to extinguish the flames, the fire had 
gained such headway when it was discovered 
that it was impossible to fight it. In a brief 
time the smokehouses all were burned to the 
ground and all the meat which had been hang¬ 
ing within them had been destroyed or spoiled. 

On the following day, it was learned that the 
Indians had either killed or destroyed most of 
the hogs that had been left in the pens at a dis¬ 
tance from the Castle. It has been explained 
that these animals were visited once in three or 
four days for food and care. 

A cloud of gloom settled over the inmates of 
Farmers ’ Castle at the loss of their store of 
meat for the winter. A special task now de- 
76 


PURSUED BY WOLVES 


volved upon the rangers, who, in addition to 
their labor of making their daily rounds in their 
efforts to discover whether the Indians were 
threatening an attack or not, were compelled 
to be on the lookout for game that might be 
brought back to the Castle. Not very much of 
this was to be found in the winter. The tur¬ 
keys had disappeared, squirrels had gone and 
the bears had settled into their winter quarters. 
However, an occasional mild day brought forth 
some of the animals from their hiding places. 
An occasional deer also provided meat that was 
eagerly received by the hungry people. 

The task of fishing through the ice in the 
river was now resumed and in this way con¬ 
siderable supplies were also provided without 
undue labor on the part of the inmates. 

One day in January, Ich said to his older 
brother Phin, “Pm sure there’s a tub of salt 
fish that we left in our barn. I think we could 
take a sled and go over and get it. ’’ 

“If you’re sure about it,” replied Phin, 
“there’s no question. You ought to go at once. 
You had better see Corporal Shaw. He’s the 
Corporal of the Guard now and you ask him for 
permission to leave. Will you go alone or will 
Ben go with you?” 

“Just as the Corporal says,” answered Ich, 
who, in spite of his enthusiasm, had become 
77 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


more fully aware of the daily danger that beset 
the refugees in Farmers’ Castle. “I’ll go and 
see him at once,” suggested Ich. 

Within a brief time the lad found the Cor¬ 
poral of the guard and explained to him what 
his plan was. 

“By all means,” said Corporal Shaw. “If 
you think you have any supplies, they ought to 
be brought to the Castle. You may take a sled 
and I don’t think you’ll have much trouble in 
bringing the tub.” 

“You think I’d better go alone or have Ben 
go with me?” 

“Take a gun and go alone. You won’t be 
more than three quarters of a mile or a mile 
away and, if we hear your gun, we’ll probably 
know you are in trouble. But I don’t like to 
have more than one of our men away at the 
same time, unless it is necessary.” 

Ich’s face beamed at his inclusion among the 
“men.” His plea to be enrolled among the 
defenders of Farmers ’ Castle had been granted 
and no soldier was prouder than young Ich 
Taylor over his selection. His face beamed, 
his shoulders were thrown back and his con¬ 
descension to the younger boys became a 
subject of good-natured bantering from his 
friends. 

“See that you get back here within two 
78 


PURSUED BY WOLVES 


hours ,’ 1 suggested the Corporal. “We may 
need your services.” 

Corporal Shaw’s eyes were twinkling, but 
Ich was so elated by the consent he had ob¬ 
tained that he had no thought for other mat¬ 
ters. Speedily obtaining a strong sled he at 
once departed from the Castle and started for 
his home, where he was positive a tub of salted 
fish or meat had been left. Just why it had 
not been brought with the other supplies, he 
did not know, but, as he was positive the meat 
was still there and could be had, he set forth 
with full confidence on his expedition. 

Slung over his shoulder was a rifle which 
Big Joe had selected for him from the guns 
which had been brought to the place of refuge. 
It was a good gun as Ich well knew, because al¬ 
ready he had tested it thoroughly when he had 
been among those who had left the fort one day 
in search of fresh provisions. 

Although a part of his way led through the 
forest, Ich, with his rifle over his shoulder and 
dragging his sled behind him, proceeded con¬ 
fidently on his way and without any mishap ar¬ 
rived at his home. He at once proceeded to 
the barn where he found that his predictions 
were correct. A tub of the salted turkeys was 
still in a good taste of preservation and he was 
highly elated when at last he had worked this 
79 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


tub upon his sled and was preparing to return 
to the Castle. 

The silence of the forest became somewhat 
oppressive, for the afternoon sun of the short 
day was now only a little above the tips of the 
forest. Snow to the depth of several inches 
covered the ground and brought out all the 
peculiarities of the trees and bushes. Ich was 
watchful for rabbits that might be seen and 
would add materially to the store of provisions 
in the Castle. 

However, as he advanced, the wintry land¬ 
scape became more and more impressive. The 
sky above him was gray and filled with prom¬ 
ise of a coming storm. The trunks of the 
trees appeared to be unduly dark against the 
background of the snow. His father frequently 
had told him that such a sign was an indica¬ 
tion of coming storms or a modification in the 
wind. As the past few days had been very 
cold, the indications of a change in the tempera¬ 
ture were pleasing to the lad. Still Ich was 
thinking of the strange and silent scene through 
which he was moving. Some of the broken 
trunks reminded him of men who were stand¬ 
ing with guns at their shoulders, leveled at un¬ 
seen foes. The birch trees presented almost 
a ghostly appearance as he drew near. The 
oaks and maples were like guards of the sun, 
80 


PUBSUED BY WOLVES 

so sturdy and changeless did they appear 
to be. 

Once or twice Ich heard the hoot of an owl 
that apparently was preparing for his midnight 
incursion and the harsh call of several crows 
that seemed to be following him, frequently 
broke in on the silence of the forest. 

When Ich had covered about half the dis¬ 
tance he must traverse, he abruptly stopped 
and listened when he heard far behind him a 
sound that was familiar to the lad. It was the 
fierce, long howl of a wolf. 

Instantly Ich was aware of the peril that 
threatened him. Without doubt a wolf had ob¬ 
tained the scent of the meat he was carrying 
back to the Castle and was now swiftly follow¬ 
ing on his trail. The howl indicated that 
others soon would join the fierce animal that 
had in this way announced his discovery of 
food. Already Ich was picturing to himself the 
hungry pack close upon his heels as they fol¬ 
lowed him through the forest. 

Ich began to run, pulling the unwieldy sled 
after him. He had not advanced far, however, 
before he was convinced that the wolf had been 
joined by others and that they were coming 
swiftly on his trail. Several times he glanced 
behind him, expecting to see the fierce eyes and 
the huge jaws of the wolves which at such a 
81 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


time were foes not easily driven away. If they 
should prove to be the gaunt gray, or timber 
wolves, he was aware that his peril would be 
greatly increased. 

Still Ich did his best to increase the speed 
at which he was running. He still clung to his 
sled for he was determined not to lose the load 
which meant so much to the hungry people at 
Farmers’ Castle. Only as a last resort would 
he let go and flee for his life if occasion de¬ 
manded such action. He was peering eagerly 
before him, hoping that he might discover the 
presence of some man from the fort but the 
gaunt outlines of the trees were the only objects 
he saw. Still he fled on until he was breathing 
with difficulty and, in spite of the chill air, the 
perspiration was rolling in streams down his 
face. 

There had been silence behind him for sev¬ 
eral minutes now, and yet the young pioneer 
was well aware that this did not imply that his 
peril had passed. Indeed he was in greater 
fear and turned to glance keenly into the for¬ 
est behind him. 

As he did so, he discovered the long, gaunt 
body of a huge wolf followed by two others not 
more than fifty feet behind him. The time of 
his peril had arrived and the terrified lad was 
aware that he must instantly act or no report 
82 


PURSUED BY WOLVES 


of his efforts would ever be received at 
Farmers’ Castle. 

Without hesitation Ich instantly flung aside 
the strap by which he was drawing the sled and 
with his utmost speed fled toward a large beech 
tree which was only a few yards away. The 
lower branches of this tree were within easy 
reach and, still retaining his rifle, Ich fled to 
them as a refuge. There was no time now even 
to glance behind him. The wolves had discov¬ 
ered his presence and with howls and wild cries 
were swiftly approaching. Ich knew from 
stories which had been told him by the hunters, 
how necessary it was that he should still retain 
his rifle. 

Running to the base of the tree he leaped 
from the ground and with his right hand seized 
the branch directly above him, still holding his 
rifle in his left hand. In his terror he climbed 
still higher before he looked beneath him and 
then grasped the branch, throwing his arms 
around it as he stared at the howling, maddened 
animals which now were directly below him. 

There were three wolves at the base of the 
tree. One of them, larger than the others, was 
leaping frantically at the trunk as if it were 
minded to follow the fleeing lad into his place 
of refuge. Once the paws of the maddened 
animal caught on the branch and held for a 
83 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


moment and Ich trembled and fear swept over 
him that the maddened wolf might be able to 
retain its hold. 

The frantic wolf, however, fell back among 
his fellows and all three at once began to 
clamber once more against the bark. They 
could not climb, however, and, convinced that 
they were now unable to reach him in his place 
of retreat, Ich slowly drew his rifle to his shoul¬ 
der and aimed at the leader of the small pack. 

A prolonged howl greeted the report of the 
gun and it was plain to the excited boy that the 
wolf had been badly wounded, although the bul¬ 
let had failed to reach a vital spot. 

For a time Ich was hopeful that the others 
would turn upon the wounded wolf, for blood 
was trickling from its fore shoulder. He had 
often heard how these maddened animals would 
turn and rend one of the pack which had fallen 
before the rifle of a hunter. Apparently the 
rule was not observed in this instance, for all 
three still continued frantically in their efforts 
to reach the boy above them. 

When Ich tried to reload his gun he removed 
the powder horn from his shoulder. He was 
cramped in his position and suddenly the horn 
slipped from his hands and fell to the ground 
directly beneath him. 

A low cry of dismay escaped his lips when 
84 


PURSUED BY WOLVES 


Ich became aware of his misfortune. He would 
no longer be able to fire at the pack and the 
howling animals, according to tales he had 
heard, would be likely to remain for many hours 
at the base of the tree in their efforts to tire 
out their intended victim. 

In spite of the dusk, which now was deeper, 
Ich was able to see clearly the besieging wolves. 
It was evident to him that they would not soon 
leave. The wounded leader seated himself 
upon his haunches and seldom removed his gaze 
from the frightened boy. The two other 
wolves still continued to circle the tree, stop¬ 
ping occasionally in an attempt to lift them¬ 
selves among the branches. Their efforts were 
all futile, however, and the frightened boy soon 
was convinced that he must prepare for a long 
siege. Doubtless he would be there through¬ 
out the night. If the air changed sharply he 
might become so numb with the cold as to be 
unable to retain his place on the limb of the 
tree. The prospect was not promising and a 
momentary feeling almost of despair swept 
over the heart of the terrified lad. 

Long since the bucket of salted turkeys had 
disappeared. It was plain that the wolves 
were ravenous. Fond as they might be of the 
flesh of the turkeys, they looked with eager, 
85 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


burning eyes up to the place where their enemy 
was lodged. 

The darkness deepened and soon Ich was 
aware that night had fallen. Would his, 
brothers, alarmed by his failure to return to 
Farmers’ Castle, set forth in search of him? 
In that event they too might incur the danger 
which had befallen him. However, he was con¬ 
fident that, if they did begin a search for him, 
they would come armed and if he could fore¬ 
warn them of their peril, they might be able 
to drive the hungry animals away. Mean¬ 
while, the stars appeared in the heavens, the 
air became much colder and it was plain that 
a sharp change in the weather was at hand. 


CHAPTER VII 
THE TWO BROTHERS 

W HEN another hour had elapsed, Ich 
was thoroughly chilled. His fin¬ 
gers were numb and his toes were 
aching from the cold. Whenever he glanced 
below him he was aware that the wolves were 
still waiting for him to descend. He wondered 
if they were waiting for the cold to accomplish 
for them what they had been unable to achieve 
by their leaps and howls. 

The sight was not one to encourage him as 
he glanced down at the savage animals. Two 
of them were lying on the snow while the third 
sat upon its haunches and did not turn away 
its gaze from the victim they had trapped in 
the tree. 

It was useless for Ich to shout for aid. 
Farmers’ Castle was so far away that his voice 
could not be heard there and he could not ex¬ 
pect any aid from men who might be approach¬ 
ing that place of refuge. Besides, it was late 
now and provision had doubtless been made in 
87 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


every blockhouse for the protection of its in¬ 
mates and the people were asleep. 

> Ich again glanced below him. The position 
of the savage animals was unchanged. His 
arms also were now feeling the effect of the 
sharp cold and a fresh fear arose in his heart 
that he might become so numb as the hours 
passed that he would be compelled to let go his 
hold and would fall into the midst of the be¬ 
sieging wolves. The thought caused a shudder 
to pass over him and he clung still more tightly 
to the branch. 

Suddenly he was aware that there was a 
slight commotion among the wolves. The two 
that had been lying down now arose and, like 
the one that had been seated on its haunches, 
sniffed the air and whined. Had they become 
aware of the approach of enemies—men or 
beasts? The question instantly arose in Ich’s 
mind and he listened intently. Not a sound, 
however, came to his ears from the depths of 
the forest but, as he looked below again, he saw 
that the uneasiness among his savage besiegers 
was increasing. 

At that moment Ich saw, issuing from the 
midst of the trees, the shadowy forms of three 
men Against the background of the snow they 
were clearly visible as they cautiously ap¬ 
proached. They were coming from the direc- 
88 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


tion of Farmers ’ Castle and a throb of hope 
filled Ich’s heart when he was convinced that he 
was not mistaken. Surely they were coming to 
his aid. 

Placing his numbed fingers together he 
emitted the sharp and prolonged whistle which 
was recognized by his brothers whenever it was 
heard, as the “call” of the Taylor family. In¬ 
stantly he saw the approaching men stop and 
was convinced that his brothers were near. 
Doubtless both Ben and Phin were coming to 
his aid. It was impossible for him to deter¬ 
mine who the third member of the party was. 

Quickly the three approaching men broke 
into a run and as they came nearer Ich shouted 
in his excitement, 1 ‘ Look out! Look out! I’m 
up in a tree here and there are three big timber 
wolves right at the bottom! They have penned 
me in!” 

As soon as he had spoken Ich looked below 
at the wolves. They had not fled from the spot 
but they were walking about the base of the 
tree in a manner that betrayed their uneasi¬ 
ness. Occasionally one of them whined and 
several times the leader ran a few steps from 
the place and sniffed the air as if he was 
alarmed. 

However, when the three approaching men 
had drawn near enough to enable them to per- 
89 


PIONEEB SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


ceive the forms of the wolves, there was a quick 
report from their rifles. The targets at which 
they were aimed were somewhat indistinct be¬ 
cause the men shot before they drew near the 
tree. It was speedily manifest that at least 
one of the wolves had been hit for a loud howl 
was raised. For a moment the other two 
wolves manifested increasing uneasiness and 
then as if at some preconceived signal they 
broke from the place and sped swiftly toward 
the forest. 

4 ‘There they go! They’ve run away!” 
shouted Ich. ‘ ‘ They are making for the woods, 
off to your left. There are two of them. Don’t 
let them get away!” 

As soon as the lad had spoken, one of the 
party turned sharply about and ran swiftly in 
the direction Ich had indicated. The other two 
men at once approached the base of the tree in 
which Ich had found a place of refuge. One 
of them, whose voice the lad recognized as that 
of his brother Phin, called sharply, “Are you 
all right, Ich?” 

“Yes, I’m all right. Just a little cold,” re¬ 
plied the prisoner. 

“Can you come down alone or do you want 
me to help you?” 

‘ ‘ I think I can make it, ’ ’ answered Ich as he 
began to climb down. 


90 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


The boy was much more numb than he had 
been aware until he began the descent from 
the tree. His fingers were purple and he 
was hardly able to use them. Indeed once or 
twice he almost fell from the limbs, but by a 
great effort he retained his hold and soon found 
himself standing upon the ground with his two 
brothers near him. 

“What was the trouble?” demanded Phin. 

“Wolves mostly,” replied Ich sharply, as he 
thrashed his arms about his shoulders striving 
to renew the circulation. “They must have 
got the scent of my turkeys for I hadn’t come 
very far from our place before they were after 
me. I left my sled and tub and made for the 
tree and it was lucky for me that I did. I 
thought one of them would climb right up after 
me. He certainly tried hard enough and al¬ 
most succeeded.” 

“How long have you been here?” 

“I don’t know. It seems like a month of 
Sundays.” 

At that moment they heard the sharp report 
of a rifle discharged not far away and all three 
listened intently as Phin exclaimed, “That’s 
Big Joe. He took after those wolves that ran 
when we got sight of them.” 

Meanwhile Ben had examined the sled and 
the tub which had recently contained the salted 
91 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


turkeys. ‘ ‘ They got everything!’ ’ he exclaimed 
ruefully. “You wouldn’t think they could hold 
so much.” 

‘ ‘ They certainly seemed to be just as hungry 
as ever when I looked down and saw them star¬ 
ing up into my face,” added Ich. 

“Well, they’re gone now,” said Phin, “and 
we ’ll take the sled and go on back to the Castle. 
Do you think you can make it, Ich ? ’ ’ 

“Of course I can make it,” retorted the boy 
quickly. “I’m just a bit numb from the cold. 
As soon as I begin to walk I’ll be all right.” 

“Shall we wait for Big Joe?” inquired Ben. 

In response Phin placed his hands about his 
mouth and emitted a prolonged call. 

To the joy of the boys the call was answered 
and in a brief time Big Joe was seen approach¬ 
ing. ‘ ‘ They got away from me, ’ ’ he exclaimed. 
“I fired at them but I didn’t have a good mark. 
I’m afraid I missed ’em both.” 

“We’ll look ’em up in the morning,” said 
Phin. 

As they made their way back toward Farm¬ 
ers’ Castle, Ben explained to his younger 
brother that no one had felt any anxiety over 
the failure of Ich to return to the blockhouse 
until after the sun had set. Then as he failed 
to appear their anxiety increased with every 
passing moment. At last, at the suggestion of 
92 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


Big Joe himself, the three had armed them¬ 
selves with heavy rifles and set forth in search 
of him. In spite of the peril in which Ich had 
been placed by the savage animals, his brothers 
were somewhat relieved to find that it was 
only wolves with which he had had to deal. 

Although they did not explain in detail, all, 
including Ich, understood that their great fear 
had been of Indians who might either have 
made Ich a prisoner or have shot him. Most 
of the attacks by the Indians, however, were 
made in the daytime or just before the morn¬ 
ing sun appeared. 

The feeling of relief when it was discovered 
that Ich had not been attacked by the Indians 
had in a measure belittled the danger in which 
he had been placed by the pursuing wolves. 
Ich himself declared that, if help had not come, 
he did not believe he would have been able to 
maintain his place of refuge in the tree until 
morning. 

It was late in the afternoon when at last the 
little party, headed by the hunter, arrived at 
Farmers’ Castle. There were evidences of ex¬ 
citement about the place which aroused the 
newcomers until at last Ben exclaimed in a 
low voice, “There’s nothing wrong. It looks 
as if they were getting ready for a dance.” 

When the boys entered within the walls they 
93 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


discovered that Ben’s words were true. A fid¬ 
dler from Gallipolis had been engaged and the 
Frenchman was already going through many 
of his motions with the bow, although the dance 
itself was not to begin until after darkness had 
fallen over the land. 

“ I’m not going in , 9 9 said Ich. 

“No wonder,” retorted Ben. “You’re not 
old enough.” 

Ich turned in scorn upon his brother but the 
threatened attack was avoided by the interven¬ 
tion of Phineas. “Never you mind, Ben,” said 
his older brother. “You leave Ich alone. In 
my opinion he will be one of the most popular 
people at the party.” 

Although Ich tried quietly to enter the fort 
in order to avoid comments or questions by his 
friends, he soon discovered that the report of 
his adventures had spread throughout Farm¬ 
ers’ Castle. When he first appeared after sup¬ 
per, although candles were burning in the room, 
he was immediately besieged with questions by 
his friends and it was difficult for him to con¬ 
ceal his feeling of mortification. Somehow he 
had a conviction that he was looked upon by 
the other residents as one who had failed in his 
task and had been the victim of his own lack of 
courage. 

However, as the story spread and the ques- 
94 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


tions continued, a part of his bashfulness wore 
away and before the evening ended he was 
almost persuaded that he had been a hero of 
some kind. 

Among those who were in attendance at the 
festivities were parties of young people who 
had come from Ft. Harmar. The days were so 
monotonous and the constant peril of attacks 
by the Indians had so worked upon the nerves 
of the settlers that any relaxation was welcome. 
Besides it was not feared that attacks would 
be made upon parties that were well protected 
or sufficiently large to insure protection against 
the prowling Indians. 

In spite of Ich’s returning courage, however, 
he took no part in the festivities. In amaze¬ 
ment he looked at his brother Ben who ordi¬ 
narily was so quiet and retiring that it was 
difficult for him to talk to a stranger. Ben, 
however, apparently was enjoying himself to 
the utmost. When the figures were called Ben 
was always to be seen among the foremost. 
He was totally unresponsive to the taunts of 
his younger brother who made faces at him or 
saluted his approach with questions which he 
knew must be embarrassing. 

However, even the arms of the fiddler as well 
as the strength of the dancers at last began to 
show the effects of the evening. Before mid- 
95 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


night the party broke up and those who had 
journeyed to Farmers’ Castle from the nearby 
forts or distant homes prepared to return in 
as large companies as could be formed. Shouts 
and calls followed them as they left the pali¬ 
sades and promises were given that the evening 
soon would he repeated. 

On the following day while Ich and his brother 
Phin were walking along the inner court of 
the Castle, they were halted by Sergeant 
O’Brien, a good-natured Irishman, the officer 
of the day. His face beamed as he greeted the 
boys, an expression, however, that was com¬ 
monly seen whenever he stopped to converse 
with any one. He was the personification of 
good nature and popular among all the people, 
young and old. 

“It’s some one we must have for to go to 
Red Stone—” he began. 

“And so you stopped us,” laughed Phin. 

“I’m thinking that you might just as well go 
as any one.” 

“What are we to go for?” 

“We’ve got to get some salt and either get 
some more salt-meat or arrange for some more 
to be brought here. We are having our trou¬ 
bles to feed all those hungry souls.” 

“We shan’t be able to bring very much salt 
and we surely can’t bring meat that will amount 
96 


THE TWO BROTHERS 

to much among two hundred and twenty-five 
people.” 

“But you can make arrangements for it,” 
persisted the Sergeant, “and I’m thinking you 
will have to go. Most of the boys have been 
out on this work and it’s about time for you 
to take your turn.” 

“Ich, here, did his stunt,” laughed Phin. 
“He went over to our place to get some salted 
turkeys but the wolves got after him on his 
way back and, what’s more, they almost got 
him. ” 

“They surely got the turkeys,” suggested Ich 
dolefully. 

Phin laughed as he said, “You know those 
wolves drove Ich straight up a tree. He says 
they followed after him but I never heard of 
wolves climbing trees, did you, Sergeant?” 
Phineas winked as he smiled at the young of¬ 
ficer of the day. 

“I can’t say that I did, sir,” responded 
O’Brien demurely. “Leastwise I have never 
had any experience.” 

“Then all I can say is that you’re wrong,” 
broke in Ich. “Those wolves did their very 
best to get right up into the beech tree where I 
was. When they hung on to the branches, 
sometimes I thought they’d get a grip to pull 
themselves up as far as I was.” 

97 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“But they didn’t,” broke in Phin with a 
laugh. 

“Not quite,” acknowledged Ich. “It’s all 
very well for you fellows to stand here and 
laugh about it but if you had been where I was 
and looked down into those wide open jaws that 
were so red they seemed to be on fire, I guess 
you wouldn’t have laughed.” 

“No, I don’t think we would,” acknowledged 
Sergeant O’Brien. “You must have had a 
hard time of it. But it is just because you have 
had some experience that I want you to go with 
Phineas here and carry this message to Red 
Stone. You will have to be on the lookout too, 
for there are reports that the redskins are 
prowling all around here. ’ ’ 

“Do you think it’s necessary to go?” in¬ 
quired Phin anxiously. 

“I do, sir.” 

“What does Captain Rogers think about it?” 

“He says that it is absolutely necessary for 
some one to go and the sooner he goes the bet¬ 
ter it will be for every one.” 

“Then there’s nothing else for us to do, Ich, 
is there?” inquired Phin. And he turned to 
his younger brother and spoke, “We must do 
our part.” 

“I’m ready to start right now,” spoke up 
Ich promptly. 


98 


THE TWO BROTHERS 


Indeed the opportunity to go with his older 
brother on an expedition of this kind appealed 
strongly to the lad. To him most of the desir¬ 
able knowledge was contained within the head 
of Phin and what his brother was able to ac¬ 
complish exceeded all bounds in the imagina¬ 
tion of Ich. 

“I will count on your being ready, then, at 
the meeting place before sun-up to-morrow 
morning,” said O’Brien, as he turned to pass 
on. 

“We’ll be ready and we’ll be there,” replied 
Phin quietly. 

True to his words, early the following morn¬ 
ing Phin and his younger brother reported at 
the appointed place and after a few words of 
explanation and a solemn warning had been 
given them by Captain Rogers, they slipped 
out of the gate and started through the path¬ 
less forest for their destination. Each mes¬ 
senger carried a small pack upon his back con¬ 
taining food for the day. Red Stone was about 
six or eight miles distant and the journey was 
not considered one that would unduly test 
their endurance. The chief anxiety arose from 
the fact that spies had recently reported numer¬ 
ous evidences of the presence of Indians in the 
vicinity. Although organized attacks by the 
red men were not often made in winter, never- 
99 



PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


theless there was a continual prowling attack 
made upon the lonely settlers until a feeling of 
anxiety had spread throughout the entire 
region. 

Both boys were equipped with rifles and each 
had a well-filled powder-horn and a pouch of 
bullets. Perhaps the younger boy’s courage 
was stronger because of his confidence in his 
older brother. At all events Ich was in high 
spirits, although his brother had not spoken to 
him after their departure from Farmers’ 
Castle until they had penetrated a half mile or 
more within the adjacent forest. 


CHAPTER VIII 


THE SKATERS 

S the boys moved through the silent 



woods, the trees stood out darkly 


against the banks of snow that were 


to be seen on the hillside. The fall of snow 
had not been heavy and the wind had scattered 
it so that there were many stretches that were 


bare. 


The very silence of the great forest had so 
strong an effect upon the boys that by common 
consent they stopped for a moment to glance 
from tree to tree, each fearful that he might 
discover the presence of a hiding or prowling 
Indian. 

“ There have been lots of reports lately that 
the redskins are going to move on the Castle,’ ’ 
suggested Ich in a low whisper as he glanced 
timidly behind him. 

“Yes,” assented his brother. “Ever since 
we went to the Castle they have been telling 
that the Indians were coming. I suppose they 
will come some time.” 


101 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“What I’m afraid of is that they’ll come 
when we don’t expect them.” 

“They’ll do their best, but with such men as 
Big Joe—” Phin stopped abruptly for ap¬ 
proaching from the forest the boys saw the 
hunter himself drawing near. Evidently he 
was aware of their presence and moved swiftly 
toward them. 

When he halted he glanced first at one boy 
and then at the other as if he was expecting one 
of them to explain the cause of their presence 
in the forest on that winter day. 

“We’re going to see if we can get some salt 
and salt meat,” explained Phin. 

“Where’re you goin’?” inquired the hunter. 

“To Red Stone.” 

“You’ve got a full day’s journey before you 
get there, even if you’re lucky enough to make 
your way all right.” 

‘ ‘ What’s wrong ? What do you mean ? Have 
you seen any Indians?” inquired Ich eagerly. 

“Yes, to all your questions,” answered Big 
Joe. “What I want you boys to do is to take 
these skates with you.” 

As he spoke Big Joe took from his shoulders 
two pairs of skates which were hanging from 
the deer thongs by which they were fastened. 

“I’ve got my own skates,” explained the 
hunter, “and I brought the Corporal’s with me 
102 


THE SKATERS 


because he is cutting back to the Castle across 
lots. He is in a hurry because he goes on duty 
to-night. You take both these pairs because 
you may need them before you get back.” 

“We shan’t need them if we go through the 
woods,” declared Phin. 

“So you won’t,” admitted the hunter, “but 
you ought to make part of your way up the 
river. The river is all frozen over and you’ll 
make much better time and besides you’ll be 
safer if you go that way.” 

“Is the skating good?” inquired Ich who was 
elated by the suggestion of his friend. 

“Pretty good,” replied Big Joe. “The ice 
is a little thin in spots. Of course there are 
some rough places, but even then you’ll make 
better time than you could if you were trying to 
force your way through the woods.” 

Big Joe repeated his words of warning, al¬ 
though neither of the boys required any further 
instructions to cause them to be vigilant on 
their way. 

As they moved forward the scene about them 
became still more impressive. Here and there 
were huge maples on whose branches snow and 
ice were glistening. The surface of the drifts 
which they occasionally found were frozen over, 
reflecting the rays of sunlight as they came 
through the branches of the trees. The si- 
103 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


lence, however, that rested over the entire 
region was far more impressive than any of 
the objects that greeted the eyes of the boys. 

“We can’t be more than a half mile from the 
river,” suggested Phin after the boys had re¬ 
sumed their journey and had moved at least 
a mile through the woods. “Our best plan 
will be to put straight for the bank.” 

“I’m agreed,” answered Ich. “We can 
make a good deal better time when we put on 
our skates.” 

Ich was eager not only to depart from the 
woods, but also to don the skates which the 
hunter had given them. Among his com¬ 
panions he was looked upon as an expert on 
the ice and consequently he enjoyed the winter 
sports as much as any boy in Farmers’ Castle. 
Already there had been contests between the 
boys who had boasted of the merits of their 
sleds and these had been followed by games 
that were not unlike the modern hockey, when 
the younger refugees from the Castle had put 
on their skates and joined in the games on the 
ice of the nearby river. 

As soon as the brothers arrived at the bank 
their first activity was to scan carefully the sur¬ 
face of the frozen river. Although they peered 
keenly in either direction, not a man nor any 
moving creature did they discover in the scene 
104 


THE SKATERS 


before them. Apparently they were the only 
living objects on the bank of the stream at the 
time. 

In silence they adjusted their skates and the 
enthusiasm of Ich increased as he began to “cut 
capers” and figures on the ice which, in the 
little cove where they now were, was smooth 
and strong. “This is the way!” he called to 
his brother, as with long and powerful strides 
he darted toward the middle of the stream. 

“Don’t go out there!” called Phin wam- 
ingly. “We better keep fairly near this bank.’ r 

1 1 That may be all right , 9 9 Ich retorted to his 
brother. “But if there should be any redskins 
on this side of the river they would have no 
trouble in seeing us. They could get after us, 
too.” 

“That’s all right,” said Phin. “But we 
might want to make for the shore and if we 
were out in the middle of the river we might 
have our troubles before we got to the bank.” 

As the younger boy assented to the sug¬ 
gestion of his older brother in whose word, as 
we know, he had unbounded confidence, they 
increased the speed at which they were moving 
and soon were making most excellent time as 
they proceeded up the stream. For an hour 
or more not a word was spoken and no sound 
was heard except the ring of the runners of 
105 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


their skates as the boys moved swiftly forward. 

The skates themselves were of the old- 
fashioned kind but were highly tempered and 
sharp. The runners had been forged by hand 
in the smithy at Farmers’ Castle and were 
made under the direction of Big Joe himself. 
They were formed of highly tempered steel and 
it was the pride of the hunter’s heart that he 
kept them in condition for work at any moment 
their services might be required. For, among 
the refugees at Farmers’ Castle, skating was 
not a pastime but was one of the means by 
which help might be had or provisions obtained 
in time of need. 

When the two lads arrived at a point of 
land that jutted out into the river they decided 
that they would go ashore. They had pro¬ 
ceeded over the ice as far as it was possible 
in the journey they were planning to make, and, 
somewhat familiar with the region, they were 
positive now that they could make better time 
to their destination by proceeding through the 
forest. They were both confident that there 
was no danger of losing their way and their 
interest increased as they drew near the place 
they were seeking. 

When they removed their skates and hung 
them about their necks and climbed the bank 
and entered the forest, the same silence that 
106 


THE SKATERS 


had been so oppressive before now seemed 
again to rest upon them both. Each was 
aware that the other was exceedingly watch¬ 
ful and each suspected his brother of being 
afraid. 

In view of the reports which had come of 
the activities of the Indians during the winter 
the fear of the boys was natural. They were 
fully aware of the perils that beset the hardy 
settlers from the boldness of the tribes whose 
anger had increased with every passing year 
that the white men had stayed in a territory 
which the red men believed to be their own. 
Whenever a man or boy departed from the 
Castle the last words he heard were to advise 
him to take redoubled precaution in the midst 
of the dangers that surrounded him. 

Both these boys were sturdy and not unduly 
timid. They were aware, however, of the 
perils that threatened them and accordingly 
adopted measures of precaution that would 
have seemed strange to one who did not under¬ 
stand their meaning. Instead of moving 
swiftly in a straight line they darted from tree 
to tree as they proceeded along the shore. 
Their plan was to move to the shore of the bay 
directly ahead of them and then, skating again 
to the main shore, strike directly across the 
country toward the place they were seeking. 

107 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


When, however, they gained the shore on the 
opposite side of the little promontory, they 
were startled when they beheld three Indians 
on the ice apparently skating directly toward 
the place where the boys were standing. 

“Let’s go back where we were,” suggested 
Ich hurriedly. 

“No, no,” responded his brother. “Get be¬ 
hind a tree. WeVe got to see what these red¬ 
skins are up to.” 

Almost fascinated by the sight, Ich, who 
quickly followed the directions of his brother, 
gazed from behind the tree where he had taken 
refuge at discovery of the approaching red 
men. It was evident that all three were excel¬ 
lent skaters. Their strides were swift and the 
movements of their bodies were graceful as 
they came swiftly forward. 

“They’re going to pass us!” exclaimed Phin 
as the Indians showed no sign of changing their 
course. 

The hope of the boys, however, was speedily 
dashed when the three Indians sweeping in 
nearer the shore and moving swiftly down the 
river soon were aware of the marks which the 
skates of the two boys had made on the ice. 
Instantly the red men paused and a hasty con¬ 
sultation followed. Two of them were point¬ 
ing excitedly toward the marks on the ice and 
108 


THE SKATERS 


both boys, who had moved from their former 
positions, and now were watching the actions 
of their enemies, were aware of their peril. 

Quickly the Indians turned toward the shore, 
following the marks of the skates, and it was 
soon evident also that they had discovered 
traces of the movements of the boys as they had 
run swiftly across the little promontory. 

Apparently capture was certain. The In¬ 
dians, although they were moving cautiously, 
had taken off their skates and were advancing 
across the promontory. All three were armed 
and it was plain that they were eager to over¬ 
take their foes whose trail was fresh and recent. 

“Come on!” called Phin in a low voice. 
“They’ll get us as sure as fate if we don’t clear 
out.” 

“Where’ll we go!” inquired Ich. 

“There’s only one place for us,” answered 
Phin, “and that’s the river. Come on as fast 
as you can. Don’t make any noise. We’ll 
have to use our skates and of course they’ll 
fire at us before we’ve gone very far but we 
may get a good start.” 

“Shall we go up or down stream?” inquired 
Ich, as he quickly and silently followed his 
brother, as Phin darted down the bank. 

“Go back the way we came,” replied Phin. 
“There’s a chance that we may find some one 
109 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


to help us if we get into trouble. It’ll be more 
likely to come from that direction than the 
other . 9 9 

The brothers now were on the ice and hastily 
strapped on their skates. In spite of their ex¬ 
citement there were no false motions and in a 
brief time they arose and as Phin led the way 
they started with long strides in the direction 
from which they had recently come. Every 
moment they were expecting to hear the shout 
of the Indians or the report of a gun. They 
had, however, advanced a hundred yards or 
more before the Indians discovered their flight. 
Then a wild shout arose from the three red 
men and as Ich glanced over his shoulder he 
saw them run swiftly down the bank of the 
river. 

It was known that many of the Indians were 
marvelous skaters. Races between the white 
men and the red in the days before wars had 
broken out were not infrequent, and it was also 
reported that the Indians had frequently won 
in the exciting contests. 

Over his shoulder each of the brothers had 
slung his rifle and this now somewhat impeded 
the swiftness of the flight. However, their ef¬ 
forts redoubled as soon as they discovered that 
the Indians were in pursuit and when at last 
their enemies had gained the ice and adjusted 
110 


THE SKATERS 


their skates, they had more than doubled the 
distance between them. Both boys were good 
skaters and there was an incentive now such 
as they never had had before to move swiftly. 
The metallic ring of their skates was the only 
sound for a time that broke in upon the silence 
of the afternoon. Phin directed his brother 
not even to glance behind him as not one motion 
that in any way might impede their progress 
was to be made. All their strength and every 
effort were to be combined upon maintaining 
the swiftness of their flight. 

Not a shot had been fired at them as yet, for 
it was plain that the red men were depending 
upon their speed to overtake the fugitives and 
were plainly confident that soon they would 
make prisoners of them both. Phin, who was 
the natural leader, had unconsciously been cut¬ 
ting their course in nearer the left bank of the 
river. His plan was that, should they be in 
danger of being overtaken, he and Ich would 
abandon their skates, make for the shore, and 
seek some place of refuge among the great trees 
of the forest. 

They had found several rough stretches of 
ice that had somewhat impeded their progress 
but inasmuch as their pursuers were compelled 
to cross the same stretches, the relative dis¬ 
tance between them did not decrease, for the 
111 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


boys were greatly elated to discover that as yet 
their enemies had not perceptibly gained on 
them. 

A fresh call from Phin for his brother to in¬ 
crease his efforts was followed by a quick 
response from Ich, but the latter exclaimed in 
a low voice as they moved swiftly forward, 
1 ‘They’re gaining now, Phin. I don’t think we 
can hold out much longer.” 

Phin, however, did not reply, and Ich said no 
more, as he reserved his strength for maintain¬ 
ing his position by the side of his brother. 

They were now within fifty feet of the shore. 
Unknown to the boys there was a rift in the 
current there which had made the ice thinner 
and much more brittle. Phin shouted in terror 
when he suddenly perceived directly in front 
of him and only a few yards away an open 
space in the ice. The swiftly flowing waters 
were plainly visible and Phin instantly swerved 
from the course he had been following. 

The warning, however, had come too late for 
Ich. Driving ahead as he was and exerting his 
strength to the utmost, he had not checked his 
speed until the warning call of his brother had 
been heard. Almost immediately with the loud 
shout of Phin, there was a crash in the ice and 
Ich suddenly pitched forward and disappeared 
from sight beneath the dark waters of the river. 


CHAPTER IX 


THE SPELLING CLASS 

P HIN instantly stopped sharply in his 
course and, horrified by what had be¬ 
fallen his brother, dashed swiftly to¬ 
ward the open ice. Even the pursuing Indians 
were forgotten now and every thought was 
centered upon the tragic mishap to Ich. 

Quickly his younger brother rose to the sur¬ 
face, but, as he grasped the edge of the ice, to 
Phin’s horror the fragile ice gave way and Ich 
once more disappeared beneath the water. 
The current of the river at this time was swift. 
Phin saw the dark waters as they swept under 
the ice and the great fear in his heart now was 
that Ich would be drawn beneath the surface 
and held there until rescue would be impossible. 

Although Phin had ignored the presence of 
their pursuers in the great fear which had 
swept over him at his brother’s accident, he 
nevertheless was aware as for a moment he 
looked up the stream that three other men 
were approaching on skates. From their 
movements he instantly concluded that they 
113 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


were whites, but it was difficult, if not impos¬ 
sible, to distinguish at the distance, between 
the scouts from Farmers’ Castle and the red 
warriors from the forest. Many of the scouts 
were painted like Indians, both as a disguise 
and as a protection. Phin, however, was too 
excited to wait for an investigation and swiftly 
skated along the border of the ice waiting to 
obtain another glimpse of Ich. In a moment 
the boy appeared once more and again made 
desperate attempts to obtain a grip on the ice. 
Once he nearly drew himself up on the surface, 
but the ice gave way and he was plunged again 
into the river. 

Glancing once more in the direction of the 
men whom he had seen approaching Phin 
shouted in his loudest tones for help. At the 
same time he threw himself flat upon the ice 
and cautiously yet swiftly crawled forward 
toward the spot where his brother might next 
appear. A large woolen scarf which he had 
worn around his neck he now freed and holding 
it in such a manner that he could cast it toward 
his struggling brother he continued his efforts. 
An ominous cracking sound warned him that 
it was not safe for him to proceed. Ich had 
appeared again and was desperately attempt¬ 
ing to obtain a hold upon the treacherous ice. 

“ Careful! Be careful!” shouted Phin. 

114 


THE SPELLING CLASS 


“Just hold on enough to keep yourself from 
being drawn under and I’ll soon get you.” 

Whether or not Ich heard the warning of his 
brother, he was more careful and instead of 
trying to lift himself out of the river he simply 
clung to the ice which now apparently sup¬ 
ported his weight. 

At that moment Phin was aware that the men 
whom he had seen approaching were drawing 
near. Evidently they had seen the mishap and 
had swiftly changed their course to render such 
help as lay within their power. Phin was 
aware also that one of the trio was Big Joe. It 
was difficult for him to understand how the 
hunter had. returned so quickly from the place 
where he had left him in the forest. 

There was no time, however, for conjectures 
or questions, and the hunter sharply called, 
“Hold on, Ich! We’ll get you out all right. 
Be careful! Don’t break the ice. We’ll get 
you all right, lad.” 

Turning quickly to Phin, Big Joe directed 
him to remain where he was and then one of the 
white men stretched himself upon the ice, and 
grasped Phin’s feet. A second followed his ex¬ 
ample in casting himself upon the ice and seiz¬ 
ing the feet of his friend in front of him, while 
Big Joe remained in the rear, holding sturdily 
to the second of his companions. In this way a 
115 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


living chain was formed and Phin was directed 
to cast his muffler toward his brother, mean¬ 
while holding strongly to one end. 

The ice apparently was strong enough to 
bear the weight of all four, and, hastily acting 
upon the suggestion, Phin shouted and tossed 
his muffler. 

As Ich attempted to seize the end of the scarf 
his numb fingers lost their hold upon the ice 
once more and again he disappeared under the 
water. He quickly rose again, however, and, 
although it was manifest that his strength was 
failing, nevertheless, after a desperate attempt, 
he once more obtained a firm hold on the ice 
which had not given way. 

Again Phin tossed the muffler and this time 
Ich succeeded in grasping it. Once more he 
slipped into the water and Phin’s fears in¬ 
creased, for Ich was now so thoroughly chilled 
that he might be unable to retain his grasp. 
Steadily and quietly he pulled the lad toward 
him, then, just as he had hopes that the rescue 
was accomplished, the ice again gave way, 
precipitating both brothers into the water. 

As Phin rose to the surface he was aware of 
the desperate grasp of Ich on his arm. It was 
almost like a death grip and Phin was fearful 
that the last attempt of his brother to escape 
would prevent the rescue of both. 

116 


THE SPELLING CLASS 


However, as he rose he felt the strong grasp 
of Big Joe upon his shoulder, for the hunter 
had slid forward and reached the boys. As 
Ich’s hold still continued, in a moment both 
boys were drawn out upon the ice and were 
saved from the river. 

“We’ll start straight back for the Castle,” 
directed Big Joe quickly. “I’ll go with the 
boys,” he said to his two companions, “and you 
keep on for Bed Stone.” 

In spite of the cold from which he was now 
suffering, Phin said, “There are three Indians 
down the river. They have been chasing us 
and that’s why we fell in. We were trying so 
hard to get away that we didn’t see the air 
hole.” 

“There aren’t any here now,” said Big Joe, 
as he glanced in every direction. ‘ ‘ They prob¬ 
ably went back into the woods when they saw 
us coming. Now, boys, you keep up with me. 
I know you’re tired, but the only way to keep 
your hands and feet from freezing is to move 
fast, so you follow me.” 

Without any further delay the hunter at once 
led the way and started swiftly down the 
stream. The boys did their best to follow and 
in a brief time, in spite of their condition, they 
felt a returning warmth and were able to fol¬ 
low closely at the heels of their friend. 

117 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“You don’t need to go back with ns, Joe,” 
suggested Phin, as the hunter dropped hack by 
his side. “We can make it all right if you 
want to go on with the others to Red Stone. 
They need salt at the Castle and that’s what 
we had started to get.” 

“I’ll go with you,” replied Big Joe sharply. 
“We’ll start right away.” 

There was nothing more to be said, for Phin 
was aware that when the hunter spoke in this 
tone his mind was fixed. Accordingly in si¬ 
lence, broken only by the sound of their skates, 
they kept on their way. 

Ich’s gun had been lost in the river, but 
Phin’s, although it was now useless, still was 
hanging from his shoulder. Their sole protec¬ 
tion was the hunter, but somehow both boys 
felt reasonably safe now that Big Joe was their 
protector. 

When at last they arrived at the place where 
they were to cross the country, they removed 
their skates and, with Big Joe leading the way, 
moved at a slow trot through the woods along 
the well-known trail. Several times Phin pro¬ 
tested that his younger brother was too nearly 
exhausted to keep up the pace which the hunter 
had set, but, unmindful of the protest, Big Joe 
insisted upon their maintaining the speed at 
which he was running, and about noon all three 
118 


THE SPELLING CLASS 


were relieved when they saw Farmers 7 Castle 
before them. 

The scene was one of peacefulness in spite of 
the somber appearance of the leafless trees and 
the river beyond the bend. Even when they 
drew near the walls there were no guards to 
be seen and for a moment Phin was fearful that 
something had befallen the inmates. When he 
recalled, however, that there were two hundred 
and eighteen people in the place of refuge, he 
speedily convinced himself that they had little 
to fear from an attack in broad daylight. 

By this time they had approached the large 
gate, which at their summons was opened two 
or three feet and they were bidden to enter. 

“What’s wrong? What’s happened?” de¬ 
manded the corporal who chanced to be on 
guard. 

“Can’t you see?” demanded the hunter 
tartly. 

“We fell into the river,” explained Phin. 
“Big Joe helped us out and we have come back 
to the Castle.” 

“But where’s all that salt?” demanded the 
corporal. “We haven’t a pinch left in the 
place. ’ ’ 

“Your salt will come all right,” said the 
hunter. “Don’t be a bit anxious about that, 
0 ’Brien. ’ ’ 


119 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“It's not me that’s anxious,” retorted the 
yonng corporal. “But the women all over the 
whole place are running around like all pos¬ 
sessed. They want salt—salt—salt.” 

“They’ll get some salt—salt—salt,” retorted 
the hunter. “The first thing to be done is to 
get these boys into some dry clothes. You go 
up to your quarters,” he directed the brothers, 
“and if you haven’t any deerskin shirts that 
are soft and dry, I will lend you a couple of 
mine. ’ ’ 

“We’ll be all right,” said Phin quickly as, 
leading the way, he started toward the room 
occupied by Ich and himself. 

In a brief time both boys reappeared ap¬ 
parently not having suffered unduly from their 
adventure of the morning. Ich’s face was 
somewhat pale, but otherwise he showed no ef¬ 
fects. The brisk rubbing which his brother 
had given him had helped to quicken his cir¬ 
culation and now apparently he was almost 
restored. 

“You’ll have to go to school this afternoon,” 
suggested Phin. 

“Not if I can help myself,” retorted Ich. 

“You don’t want to help yourself,” said 
Phin. “You want to get all you can. When 
I was as young as you I used to feel the 
way you are talking, but now I wish I had 
120 


THE SPELLING CLASS 


taken advantage of every chance I had. ,w 

“You’re not too old to learn yet,” retorted 
Ich. “I don’t want you to forget that you’re 
less than three years ahead of me.” 

“Three years is a good deal when one is as 
young as you,” said Phin solemnly, quickly 
warding off the blow which his brother good- 
naturedly aimed at him. 

“I’m going to have something hot to eat and 
drink first,” said Ich, “before I go back to that 
school. They must be having the afternoon 
session now.” 

“Yes, it’s past one o’clock,” said Phin, 
glancing at the sky as he spoke. “Come on, 
we ’ll go out to the kitchen. ’ ’ 

Evidently the visit of the two boys in the 
kitchen was not unsuccessful for in a brief time 
both emerged into the court with smiles of 
satisfaction upon their faces and a repeated 
reluctance on the part of Ich to follow the sug¬ 
gestion of his brother to go to school. 

However, he was at last prevailed upon and 
entered the large room which had been set 
apart for Schoolmaster Sprague and about 
forty pupils. These scholars ranged in age 
from little tots not more than four years old 
to long, lanky boys and girls of fifteen or six¬ 
teen. The methods of the schoolmasters were 
like those of the times. Discipline, so-called, 
121 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


appeared to be the first qualification demanded 
of a teacher. Indeed, there were times when 
the older boys found their greatest delight in 
casting the pioneer teachers out through the 
windows or through the open doors of the log 
huts which were the temples of learning. In the 
present case, however, no attempts had been 
made upon Schoolmaster Sprague, for his 
physical prowess was well known throughout 
the Castle. Besides, the older boys were 
busied in serving as spies and guards, in cut¬ 
ting wood or looking after the needs of the 
fortress. A line of boys and girls greeted 
Ich’s eyes as he swiftly entered the room and 
the schoolmaster paused for a moment in his 
task as he inquired sharply, ‘‘Why were you 
not in school this morning?” 

i ‘ Corporal O ’Brien sent Phin and me to Red 
Stone to get some salt. ,, 

“Did you get it?” inquired the schoolmaster 
quickly. 

“We did not,” answered Ich. 

“Why did you fail? Have I not told you 
that one of the greatest lessons that we strive 
to impart to our pupils is that they are never 
to fail?” 

“We didn’t fail,” said Ich. 

“But you just said you came back without 
any salt.” 


122 


THE SPELLING CLASS 


“So we did.” 

“Then you assuredly failed.” 

“We fell into the river,” explained Ich. 
“There were three redskins chasing us and we 
ran right into an air hole before I saw it. At 
least I ran into it and Phin came in after me. ’’ 

The interest of all the scholars was keenly 
aroused and the schoolmaster said, “At all 
events you are here and you’ll please to take 
your place in the line. ’ 9 

“But I haven’t studied my spelling lesson,” 
protested Ich. 

“That isn’t my fault,” answered the peda¬ 
gogue. “You will take your place at the foot 
of the line.” 

Ich shrugged his shoulders as he followed 
the direction of the teacher and the lesson was 
resumed. 

“Spell phthisic,” directed the schoolmaster 
as he spoke to the pupil at the head of the line. 

“Please, Mr. Sprague,” inquired Ich from 
the foot of the line, “what does that word 
mean?” 

“Tell him, tell him,” directed the teacher 
turning to the line of scholars. No one, how¬ 
ever, apparently was able to inform the in¬ 
quisitive lad and the teacher evidently in some 
confusion said, “You come to my desk after 
class and I ’ll explain. ’ ’ 

123 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“Mesopotamia,” was the next word pro¬ 
nounced by the teacher, but the girl who was 
standing second in the row leaving out the 
“i” of the word failed and the boy directly be¬ 
low spelled it correctly and moved up to take 
the position in the line, while she took the place 
held by the more fortunate scholar. 

“Tintinnabulation,” pronounced the teacher. 
This was spelled by a girl, although from the 
expression upon the face of the pupil the mean¬ 
ing was by no means clear. 

“Isothermal,” “plethoric,” “hobgoblin,” 
and “providential” succeeded and met with 
varying fortunes in the line. Several of the 
scholars changed places before the words were 
correctly spelled. 

“Receive,” “deceive” and “perceive” fol¬ 
lowed, and the confusion in the minds of sev¬ 
eral as to whether “c” and “i” were prop¬ 
erly placed caused still further changes in the 
line. 

“Educational” was the word given to Ich. 
He missed it, but without any appearance of 
shame, for there was no place in the line lower 
to which he could drop. 

For nearly an hour the spelling lesson con¬ 
tinued, the teacher pronouncing words which 
had vague, or little, or no meaning at all to the 
pupils. It was purely an exercise of memory 
124 


THE SPELLING CLASS 


and, although many of the boys and more of the 
girls were able to spell many of the difficult 
words pronounced by their schoolmaster, the 
words might as well have been in Arabic for 
any meaning they had for the class. 

When at last the spelling school was dis¬ 
missed and every one turned about in his place 
and marched to his seat, which consisted of a 
rude plank on still ruder uprights, a class in 
arithmetic was called. 

As this class was composed of the older 
scholars, difficult and almost impossible prob¬ 
lems were presented and solved in a marvelous 
manner. 

Ich, who was busy working upon his slate 
striving to solve the sums which were set for 
the class of which he was a member, was dimly 
aware of the words of the older scholars and 
their occasional glances at the long lanky 
teacher as he sat with ferule in hand as if per¬ 
petually he was guarding himself against an 
unexpected onslaught. This ferule he applied 
indiscriminately and vigorously whenever oc¬ 
casion required. Frequently the boys that 
were to be punished were compelled to “toe a 
crack’’ in the front of the room and then bend 
forward to touch a crack slightly in advance of 
it. The schoolmaster then applied his ferule 
with gusto and apparent satisfaction. Just 
125 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


why brains were supposed to be stimulated as 
a result of such action and memories improved 
by such punishment was a question left unan¬ 
swered by the boys of that day and has re¬ 
ceived no solution even to the present time. 


CHAPTER X 


THE LOSS OF THE CAPTAIN 

F OR a few days the monotony of the life 
at Farmers ’ Castle was not broken. 
There was still the fear of prowling In¬ 
dians, whose presence frequently was reported 
by the watching spies and sentries. It was evi¬ 
dent, too, that the Indians were unusually ac¬ 
tive for the time of year. As a rule the red¬ 
skinned warriors were quiet during the winter 
and, if they were to go upon the warpath, they 
saved all their exertions until the coming of 
spring. 

Ich and his companions now were regular 
attendants at the school. Indeed, the lad be¬ 
came so deeply interested in his “ciphering’ ’ 
that he spent additional time in working upon 
problems with which he delighted to puzzle his 
older brother. There were games, too, into 
which the boys entered and of which the girls 
as a rule were merely interested spectators. 

A few weeks later, however, there came a 
great thaw. This had been delayed for some 
unaccountable reason and did not appear dur- 
127 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


ing the month of January when it was usually 
expected and from which it was called a * 1 Janu¬ 
ary’ ’ thaw. 

It was now March and already most of the 
snow had disappeared from the hills and only 
occasional banks were to be seen in some shel¬ 
tered refuge which had a northern exposure. 
The ice in the river, too, had broken up and 
one day the joy of the people at Farmers’ 
Castle was great when they discovered a flat 
boat slowly making its way up the stream. 
The joy was still greater when it was discov¬ 
ered that the boat contained a load of pro¬ 
visions which the men had brought from Ken¬ 
tucky. 

The monotonous diet, the close confinement, 
the necessary restrictions for the protection of 
the Castle had been borne patiently all through 
the winter, but never before had Ich and Ben 
known that a winter could last so long. Once 
they had gone together out of the fort to search 
for hickory nuts which in the autumn had 
fallen in the woods and later had been covered 
with the snow of winter. Their effort, how¬ 
ever, was speedily ended when they were 
startled by the report of a rifle and heard the 
thud of the bullet as it struck the trunk of the 
tree beneath which the boys were searching. 
The ‘ 4 hint,” as Ich explained later, that their 
128 


THE LOSS OF THE CAPTAIN 


presence in the woods was unwelcome to cer¬ 
tain people was quickly taken and at the top 
of their speed both ran for the Castle. Their 
safe arrival was hailed by their friends but no 
more did the boys search for the hickory nuts 
or venture far from the protection of the block¬ 
houses. 

The interest of the boys was keen in the ar¬ 
rival of the flat boat from Kentucky. They 
were busy with their friends in carrying pro¬ 
visions from the rude landing place to the pro¬ 
tection of the Castle. Then, too, they had their 
share of the food, and the flour which had been 
brought by the visitors provided a welcome 
change in the monotonous diet of the dreary 
winter. The two brothers were especially in¬ 
terested in an interview which Big Joe had with 
one of his friends who was a member of the 
crew of the flat boat. 

“What’s new from out yonder?” inquired 
Big Joe, glancing far down the river as he 
spoke. 

“I reckon it’s nothin’ new,” replied his fel¬ 
low spy to whom he had spoken. “It’s pretty 
much the same everywhere. ” 

“And what’s that?” 

“Why, the redskins are getting ready. There 
isn’t any question about that at all.” 

“When do you expect they’ll break out?” 

129 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“It looks like an early spring and they’ll 
come when spring comes.” 

i ‘ So you think we must be on the lookout all 
the time from now on?” 

“I shore do.” 

“Well,” replied the hunter thoughtfully, 
“we’re keeping a right sharp lookout and our 
spies are mighty fine men. Indeed, they’re the 
best lot in the whole crowd here.” 

When Big Joe spoke of the “crowd” in the 
Castle he spoke feelingly, for the conditions 
were indeed almost unbearable. Every threat¬ 
ened family within a radius of several miles, 
upon the report of prowling Indians or even 
the rumor of their coming, fled for safety and 
protection to the Castle. No one had been re¬ 
fused and, though many of the men left their 
women folk and children while they themselves 
returned to look after the wants of their cattle 
and prepare for the warmer days which soon 
were expected, their absence apparently did not 
affect the conditions. Both Ich and Ben long 
since had given up the room in which they had 
been sleeping with others, and now were spend¬ 
ing their nights on the floor of the room which 
was used for school purposes. 

“I’m thinking,” continued Big Joe thought¬ 
fully, 1 ‘ that we ’ll have to make this Castle big¬ 
ger. The walls are almost bulging now and 
130 


THE LOSS OF THE CAPTAIN 


new folk are coming every day. Just what the 
end will be, I don’t know; but they’re so thick 
now that a man would be almost afraid to fire 
his rifle, unless he was in one of the boxes. He 
might hit a squalling baby or shoot right into 
a crowd in spite of all he could do. Sometimes 
the folk here make me think of a swarm of 
bees. Something will hava to be done right 
soon.” 

“Maybe you’ll swarm like the bees you speak 
of, ’ ’ laughed his friend. 

“I shouldn’t be surprised.” 

Big Joe spoke more truly than he knew and 
before many of the spring days had elapsed, 
preparations were made for a second fort 
which was to be nearly as large as Farmers’ 
Castle. 

The interview, however, was rudely inter¬ 
rupted when a man was seen approaching along 
the pathway that led from the nearby woods. 
Instantly the hunter began to run swiftly to¬ 
ward the approaching man who was seen to 
fall, and then, staggering once more to his feet, 
resume his flight toward the Castle. It was 
evident to all the beholders that the approach¬ 
ing man had been hurt or that he was well nigh 
exhausted. The latter condition was found to 
be the one from which he was suffering when 
Big Joe at last approached and, throwing his 
131 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


arm about his friend, assisted him toward the 
protection of the fort. He was quickly joined 
by others who helped the hunter lift the man 
from his feet and together they bore him within 
the gates. 

Naturally Ich and Ben were not behind the 
other boys of the Castle in their eagerness to 
discover what the approach of the man meant. 

“It's Hi Henderson,” whispered Ich ex¬ 
citedly to his brother. “He went out with 
Captain Rogers. I wonder where the captain 
is.” 

Nor were the two brothers the only ones in 
the Castle who were greatly troubled by the 
failure of Captain Rogers to return. All knew 
that he and Hi Henderson had departed from 
the Castle early that morning and that the 
purpose of their going had been to search for 
signs of the presence of the Indians. The very 
fact that Captain Rogers now had failed to re¬ 
turn and his companion appeared to be in such 
dire difficulties, increased the alarm among the 
people and speedily the gates were all closed 
and doubly barred. 

When at last Hi Henderson had recovered 
in a measure from his severe exhaustion and 
was able to report to his friends what had be¬ 
fallen him, Ich, in spite of the custom for the 
younger boys to be relegated to a quiet place, 
132 


THE LOSS OF THE CAPTAIN 

was in the first line of those who were listen¬ 
ing to his words. 

“It was this way,” began Hi Henderson. 
“The captain and I set out about half past four 
this morning. We hadn't gone far before we 
found plenty of signs of the Indians. We found 
more than we'd seen since the winter started. 
We kept on till we'd made our circuit and 
when we came back and struck the cowpath out 
yonder and were just about a mile away from 
the Castle, all of a sudden a couple of redskins 
jumped up from behind a log where they'd been 
hiding and fired on us. They weren't more 
than twenty feet away. They hit the Captain 
and he fell to the ground.” 

“Why didn’t you stand by him?” demanded 
one of the men sternly. 

“ ‘I'm a dead man,' the Captain groaned,” 
explained the spy. “ ‘I'm hit and hit hard,' he 
said. 

“I saw that he was, for he was bleeding hard 
from his mouth as well as from his side.” 

“Did they hit you?” inquired the man who 
had spoken before. 

“Not then,” answered Henderson. “I was 
for staying by the Captain no matter what hap¬ 
pened. I looked around for the redskins but I 
couldn't see a sign of them. Right then Cap¬ 
tain Rogers said to me, ‘Go! Don't wait a 
133 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


minute, Henderson. I’m a dead man.’ I 
folded his blanket for him and put it under his 
head and got some water and tried to help him 
every way I could but right while I was doing 
that he gave one long breath and was gone. I 
didn’t have much chance to do more than prove 
that he was really dead when I thought I saw 
the Indians again. I lit out but I hadn’t gone 
very far before I saw that they were ahead 
of me. It was plain to me then that they had 
started on ahead and would be waiting for me 
when I came along. Of course, they knew all 
about the path to the Castle. 

“ Instead of going ahead, I jumped to one 
side and ran into the gulch back yonder. I 
didn’t get to the end of it though, before I ran 
straight past the camp which the redskins must 
have had the night before. There was one 
there and I might have shot him as easy as fall¬ 
ing off a log, but I didn’t.” 

“Didn’t he get sight of you?” inquired one 
of the men. 

“I don’t reckon he did. I got sight of him 
and as my rifle hadn’t been fired I could have 
dropped him just as easily as I could have 
dropped a tom turkey. ’ ’ 

“Why didn’t you?” 

“Because I was afraid I’d give the alarm 
and I’d get caught somewhere between ithe 
134 


THE LOSS OF THE CAPTAIN 


three redskins, so I kept right on past the camp 
and I’m almost sure the redskin didn’t hear 
me or see me. At any rate I’m here and I’ve 
come back to report the death of Captain 
Rogers. ’ ’ 

44 We can’t do anything to-night,” said one 
of the men as he glanced at the sky. “It 
wouldn’t be safe for any one of us and if the 
Captain is dead, we can’t help him. We’ll get 
a party and go out to-morrow morning and 
bring in his body. That is, if the varmints 
have left it there where he fell.” 

It was about ten o’clock the following day 
when the little party with which both Ben and 
Ich were permitted to go started in their search 
for the body of the fallen Captain. They 
found the dead soldier where Henderson had 
reported that he had fallen. Neither of the 
boys could repress a shudder when they were 
aware that the body of the daring leader had 
been scalped and stripped by the Indians. A 
blanket which the party had brought with them 
was thrown over the dead body which then was 
lifted and borne back to the fort by the serious 
faced friends of the old soldier. 

Captain Rogers had been one of the most dar¬ 
ing of Morgan’s Riflemen in the campaign 
against Burgoyne in 1777. He and a young 
Irishman, familiarly known as Tim Murphy, 
135 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


had been among the best shots in that justly 
celebrated band. Upon the hunting shirt of 
every member was a shield on which was rudely 
scrawled the words of Patrick Henry, “ Liberty 
or Death.” 

“It’s strange,” said one of his friends, as the 
body of Captain Rogers was being carried back 
to the fort, “that the Captain told me this 
morning afore he started that he had a bad 
dream the night afore he started that he was 
sure something was goin’ to happen that day to 
him that was mighty important.” 

“Did he think he was going to be shot?” in¬ 
quired the man’s companion in a low voice. 

“He said it was either that or some mighty 
good fortune was goin’ to happen to him. He 
said he never had such a dream without one 
or the other of those two things coming to him 
afore the sun set.” 

“Well, whether it was his dream coming true 
or not, I’m mighty sorry we’ve lost him. He 
was one of our best men.” 

Silence followed as the little party continued 
on its way, every man thinking not only of the 
dead soldier but also of the prowling enemies 
who might be close on either side of the path. 
However, when at last they arrived at the 
Castle, no one had been hurt nor had any In¬ 
dians been seen, although Ich was very decided 
136 


THE LOSS OF THE CAPTAIN 


in his statement that he had heard the snapping 
of sticks on the ground off to the right of the 
course followed by the little band. As he was 
only a boy, his words were not taken seriously 
and the rejoicing of the inmates of the Castle 
as well as of the returning men was great over 
their escape from an attack by their foes. 

The fact, however, of the loss of the Captain 
had a depressing effect upon all and when the 
rude funeral services were held on the follow¬ 
ing day, the anxiety of every one in Farmers’ 
Castle had been greatly intensified by the death 
of one of their leaders. 

Nor was the effect manifest alone upon the 
people at Farmers’ Castle. All day long the 
crowded conditions were made still more 
crowded by the incoming of people from the 
scattered and distant cabins. Alarm guns had 
been fired at Fort Harmer as soon as the death 
of the Captain had been confirmed and a mes¬ 
sage had been sent telling of his death. The 
excitement which the alarm made throughout 
the region was great and was steadily increas¬ 
ing. The rush of settlers for the protection to 
be had at the Castle daily increased. 

People were fleeing toward the refuge bring¬ 
ing with them some of their possessions which 
they looked upon as of special value. One man, 
for example, was running with his leather 
137 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


apron filled with goldsmith’s tools and tobacco. 
One yonng woman was seen approaching hold¬ 
ing a small china teapot in her hand. Doubt¬ 
less she looked upon this as the most valuable 
of her possessions. Others who were the 
owners of china cups and saucers, which were 
rare among the rude and wooden dishes that 
frequently had to be carved for table purposes, 
were bringing these valued possessions with 
them. 

“They might better drop their fancy things 
and bring something to eat,” growled Big Joe 
not ill-naturedly, as he watched the approach¬ 
ing people. 

“Here!” he called suddenly to a young 
woman who was passing through the gate. 
Slung over her shoulder was a pillow. “What 
have you got in there, Mary?” demanded Big 
Joe. 

“Feathers,” answered the girl promptly. 

“Well, where’s your mother?” demanded the 
hunter sharply. 

“Mother? She’s still in the cabin.” 

“What did you leave her for?” 

“We didn’t leave her. She wouldn’t come 
with us just then. She said she’d be coming 
a bit later.” 

“What’s the trouble?” 

“She said she wouldn’t leave the house look- 
138 


THE LOSS OF THE CAPTAIN 


ing so. Said she had to clear up before she 
left. We did all we could to get her to come 
but she just said she wouldn’t. She just had 
to set things to rights.” 

“And do you mean to tell me that all you 
children have left your mother alone in that 
cabin?” 

“I didn’t tell you anything of the kind,” re¬ 
torted Mary sharply. “I just said mother 
wouldn’t come with us. Dan said he would stay 
right with her till she got ready to come and 
that she needn’t start until she got good and 
ready.” 

“She’ll be all right then,” said Big Joe re¬ 
lieved. 

“Of course, she’ll be all right,” retorted 
Mary. “If you didn’t think we’d look after 
her then all I can say is, it’s not to your credit. ’ ’ 

It was plain that Mary’s eyes were shining 
with something more than the thought of leav¬ 
ing home and seeking the protection of the 
Castle. The hunter apparently, however, was 
not greatly moved by her anger and turned to 
peer at another young woman who now was to 
be seen approaching over the cowpath. 

i 1 Of all things! ’ ’ exclaimed Ich. ‘ i What has 
that woman got in her hand?” 

“I can tell you,” said the hunter. “She’s 
got a lookin’ glass. Everybody is bringing 
139 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


what he thinks is worth most to him, especially 
if it’s a woman. That’s Betsy Wright, and a 
lookin’ glass is the most valuable thing in all 
the world to her.” 

“Is she good looking?” inquired Ich. 

“No, she isn’t,” answered the hunter sol¬ 
emnly, “and that’s the reason for it all. She’s 
all the time peering into that glass hoping she’ll 
see some change for the better. But I’ve 
known Betsy nigh on to three years and I 
haven’t found anything yet to make me think 
she’s ever goin’ to find any improvement.” 

Night soon fell and with the coming of the 
darkness no more refugees appeared. The 
manifest anxiety, however, of Big Joe as well 
as of the sergeant and others who were respon¬ 
sible for conditions at Farmers’ Castle, was so 
evident that when Ben and Ich took their 
blankets and sought their corner in the school¬ 
room where they were to spend the night, both 
boys were confident that events of great im¬ 
portance were overhanging the Castle. In 
spite of their excitement, however, they were 
soon asleep and it was not until morning came 
that they were aware that their fears of the pre¬ 
ceding night were not entirely meaningless. 


CHAPTER XI 
FALLEN 

T HERE were still many men in Farmers ’ 
Castle who had been unable to drive 
their stock near to the blockhouse. 
They, therefore, had been compelled to leave 
their possessions in their former surroundings 
and daily the men went forth to attend to their 
wants. 

As the winter passed this task was attended 
with increasing peril. The threats of the In¬ 
dians, their zeal and manifest determination 
to attack the encroaching whites, were now so 
apparent that even the most reckless of the 
white men seldom visited their homes or went 
into the forest on their hunting expeditions 
alone. Repeatedly men had been fired upon 
and the report of the rifle was the only an¬ 
nouncement of the presence of their red-skinned 
foes. As yet no one from the Castle except 
Captain Rogers had been killed, although sev¬ 
eral had had very narrow escapes. 

With the coming of spring, the tasks of the 
settlers became more perplexing. Not only 
141 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


must their stock be looked after but they must 
also prepare to plow their tillable fields and 
make ready for the coming of the warmer days. 

Among the people of Farmers’ Castle at this 
time was Waldo Putnam, son of old General 
Israel Putnam of Connecticut, whose deeds in 
the Revolution had made his name as “Old 
Put” familiar to all the people of the colonies. 
Waldo, with others from Connecticut and 
Massachusetts, had been drawn westward by 
the promises of the Land Company and yet in 
spite of his heritage of bravery was compelled 
with others to seek the refuge of Farmers’ 
Castle. 

Early in the morning, following the events 
recorded in the last chapter, Waldo Putnam 
and Nathaniel Little together departed from 
the blockhouse to milk and feed their cows 
which were only a half mile distant from the 
place of refuge. The spot was so near the 
Castle that no great danger was anticipated in 
the task in which they had been engaged daily 
for several weeks. 

However, they decided to proceed together 
and before the people of the little fort were 
astir they had gone into the woods. When 
they arrived at the place they were seeking, 
Waldo took the wooden milking stool and, seat¬ 
ing himself beside one of his cows, prepared to 
142 


FALLEN 


finish his morning task. Nathaniel was to stand 
as guard and be watchful of the possible ap¬ 
proach of their enemies. The sound of the 
milk in the bucket was all that broke in upon 
the silence of the morning. The sun had dis¬ 
appeared behind the clouds and there was a 
dreary aspect to the surrounding woods. To 
a stranger the scene might not have presented 
much promise of the spring which was near at 
hand. 

Several minutes elapsed and the silence con¬ 
tinued unbroken. Nathaniel was watching 
some crows that were circling about a spot 
farther within the forest, apparently excited 
about some cause that was not manifest to 
him. The excitement among the crows in¬ 
creased and they were more noisily announc¬ 
ing their feelings. Their movements became 
swifter and the circles in which they were fly¬ 
ing contracted. It was evident that there was 
something that had aroused their fear or anger, 
but what it was was still hidden from the eyes 
of the guard at the milking station. 

Suddenly Nathaniel turned to his left and 
peered intently among the trees. He clearly 
saw several tufted heads directly above the 
bushes that intervened between the clearing 
and the great trees. A second glance was 
not required to convince him that he had 
143 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 

already discovered the presence of prowling 
red men. 

“Indians! Indians!” he shouted. 

Without a moment’s delay both men fled 
from the spot. Waldo emptied the pail which 
was nearly filled and, shouting to the cows, 
started them running swiftly and then with 
Nathaniel he turned abruptly in the opposite 
direction in his flight. He was too late, how¬ 
ever, for at that moment the concealed Indians 
fired upon him and he fell instantly to the 
ground. 

Nathaniel, however, was running at his ut¬ 
most speed. As he dashed through the woods 
he discovered several men approaching whom 
he recognized as friends from Farmers’ Castle. 
They were plainly going to their clearing which 
adjoined Waldo’s and were startled when they 
beheld the wild flight of Nathaniel. 

A little dog which they had with them began 
to bark noisily and Nathaniel, as he drew near, 
motioned with his hands that they were to flee 
at once from the region. However, the men 
moved slowly, holding their rifles in readiness 
for instant use and peering keenly in every 
direction for the presence of their foes. 

They had withdrawn two hundred yards 
when they perceived, behind some brush fence 
which marked the border of the clearing, the 
144 


FALLEN 


heads of three or four watching Indians. 
Aware that they were discovered the red men 
leaped to their feet and started in swift pur¬ 
suit. The chase soon became so keen that there 
was no opportunity for any one to assist his 
friend. Each man must look after his own 
safety and yet somehow the white men managed 
to keep quite closely together, although at 
times they purposely scattered somewhat in 
order to prevent their enemies from obtaining 
too good a mark. 

On and on ran the pursuers and the pursued. 
For a time it seemed as if neither was gaining 
upon the other. Over the fallen logs they 
leaped, darting through the entangling brush 
and not once turning to look behind them to 
discover whether or not the Indians were 
gaining. 

In a brief time they came to the border of the 
ravine which had proved a refuge for the friend 
of Captain Rogers and leaping over the bank 
they stumbled and fell and yet somehow ar¬ 
rived safely at the bottom. Then scattering, 
two of them ran in one direction while their 
recent companions, turning swiftly to their 
right, followed the course which led toward 
Farmers’ Castle. 

They now redoubled their efforts. Nathan¬ 
iel’s courage increased as he recognized the 
145 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


familiar spots which indicated that he was now 
not far from the protection of the Castle. 
Never before had he longed for its shelter as 
he did at that moment. He was putting forth 
every effort and exerting himself to the utmost 
of his strength. Every breath caused him dis¬ 
tress and yet he dared not halt or stop even to 
look behind him. If he and his companion 
could only gain the open space that intervened 
between the Castle and the forest, he thought 
they would be safe, for the Indians doubtless 
would not venture beyond the border of the 
great woods. 

Once more he strove to increase the speed at 
which he was running. Before him he saw the 
light of the rising sun and it was plain that 
the refuge he was seeking was not far away. 
“Come on! Come on!” he called breathlessly 
to his companion, but still he did not even 
pause to look behind him to see whether or not 
his friend was following closely. The chase 
was almost ended but the opportunity for dis¬ 
aster was still not gone. He must gain the 
shelter of the little fort. 

As Nathaniel and his companion emerged 
from the forest their presence instantly was 
discovered by the watch in one of the towers 
of the Castle. A loud yell from him greeted 
their appearance and his alarm was quickly 
146 


FALLEN 


followed by shouts that came from within the 
stockade. 

Convinced that help was near at hand, Na¬ 
thaniel still did not falter though he was breath¬ 
ing with great difficulty and his feet seemed to 
be shod with leaden weights. Suddenly he saw 
before him one of the gates swing open and 
forth from the Castle darted a half dozen men, 
all shouting their words of encouragement and 
running swiftly as they drew near. 

Abruptly they halted and, at the word of their 
leader, who proved to be the hunter, they fired 
together. At the same time the reports of 
several rifles from the forest rang out and Na¬ 
thaniel instantly was aware that his pursuers 
had followed him even beyond the protection 
of the great trees. This was an unusual pro¬ 
cedure on their part and, in spite of his breath¬ 
less condition, he was wondering why they had 
ventured farther than was their custom. 

Answering shouts and cries now came from 
the red men but as Nathaniel drew near his 
friends and glanced for the first time behind 
him he was aware that the Indians had re¬ 
gained the protection of the forest and were 
shouting their cries of defiance from places of 
safety. 

As Nathaniel staggered forward he was 
caught in the arms of Ben, who together with 
147 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


his brother had ignored the calls for them to 
stay behind the stockade and had ventured 
forth to help the fugitives or at least to gain 
a position from which they might be specta¬ 
tors of the exciting events that were certain to 
occur. 

Ich now was wild with excitement. The mo¬ 
notony of the long days was at last broken and, 
yelling in his loudest tones, he darted from one 
place to another, scarcely aware of what he 
was doing and twice shot as he saw the forms 
of the Indians appear on the border of the 
forest. 

The shouting and confusion redoubled when 
some one called, “The redskins have run! 
They’re making for their camp! Follow me! 
Let’s get every one of them!” 

At the call of Corporal O’Brien, who was 
leading the little force of pursuers, there was a 
wild rush toward the forest and soon white men 
and red alike were lost to the sight of the in¬ 
terested spectators in Farmers’ Castle. 

“You come back with me,” said Ich’s older 
brother as the lad did his utmost to follow the 
men into the woods. “You’re not going with 
them. ’ ’ 

In spite of Ich’s protests, his brother com¬ 
pelled him to return and Ich was partly molli¬ 
fied when he was permitted to take his rifle 
148 


FALLEN 


and stand with his brother as a guard on the 
walls of the old blockhouse. 

For a long time the excitement in Farmers’ 
Castle continued strong, but at last after two 
hours had elapsed and the pursuing party 
had safely returned, it died away until it was 
discovered that Major Bradford, who had been 
one of the pursuing band, had not returned 
with his companions. As he was lame in one 
foot, it was feared by his friends that he had 
been unable to maintain the swift flight of his 
companions and, if he had stumbled or fallen, 
there was no question in the mind of any one 
as to what his fate was. 

“We can’t leave the Major out there,” said 
Big Joe, to a little group of men who had as¬ 
sembled near the gate. “We’ll have to go out 
and look him up.” 

“There isn’t much use,” answered the Cor¬ 
poral. “If Major Bradford hasn’t come back 
by this time, no one will ever bring him back.” 

“I’m not so sure of that,” retorted the 
hunter. “The Major may be lame but he isn’t 
as slow as some people think he is. If he had 
half a chance he’d make the most of it. I’m for 
looking him up.” 

“Nobody’s going to prevent you,” retorted 
the Corporal. “Only if you go, you must un¬ 
derstand that some of us are going with you. 

149 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


We’ve had enough for to-day when Waldo 
Putnam was shot.” 

“But we’ve got to look up Waldo too,” said 
the hunter. “We can’t leave him any more 
than we can the Major.” 

“But Nate reports that he was killed.” 

“Did you say he was Trilled?” asked the 
hunter, quickly, as he turned to Nathaniel. 

“I said he fell to the ground at the first 
shot,” answered young Little. “He didn’t 
move and I took it for granted that he was 
dead.” 

“We’ll find out whether he is or not, and I’m 
inclined to let this fierce little fighter go along 
with us,” Big Joe added, as he turned to 
Ben who was the youngest member of the 
assembly. 

Ben’s quick response and evident desire to 
accompany his friends was so manifest that not 
even Phin nor the boys’ father opposed the sug¬ 
gestions. It was necessary that the defenders 
of the blockhouse should take many chances and 
there was no good reason why the boys should 
be exempt from their share of the peril. Ac¬ 
cordingly a half dozen men started at once from 
Farmers’ Castle. 

Big Joe had assured them that there were 
not many Indians in the vicinity and was con¬ 
fident that the party which had attacked and 
150 


FALLEN 


shot Captain Rogers was the same one which 
had fired upon Waldo Putnam in the early 
hours of that morning. As the word and judg¬ 
ment of Big Joe counted for much, no one dis¬ 
puted his statement and all six started swiftly 
toward the place where Waldo was reported to 
have fallen. 

Not a sign of the presence of their foes did 
they discover before they drew near the place 
they were seeking. As they approached they 
heard the loud barking of a little dog. The 
sound was speedily followed by loud crying and 
whining and then ceased abruptly. Ordering 
his followers to spread out and approach the 
place in a semicircular advance, Big Joe led the 
way as he ran swiftly forward. 

Peering from behind one of the great trees 
when they reached the border of the clearing, 
all were easily able to discern the form of 
Waldo Putnam stretched upon the ground. 
Apparently it was lifeless and the report of 
Nathaniel had been only too true. Near the 
body was the little dog whose barking had been 
clearly heard a few moments before. There 
was peril in advancing into the open clearing 
but, without hesitating a moment, Big Joe ad¬ 
vanced after he had ordered his companions to 
remain within the shelter of the forest. Al¬ 
though there was danger that he might be a 
151 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


target for the rifles of the concealed Indians, 
not a shot was fired. 

Big Joe approached the place where his 
friend was lying and qnickly turned and waved 
to his companions, indicating that Waldo was 
not living. His companions then joined him 
and lifting the lifeless body of their friend they 
withdrew once more to the shelter of the forest, 
while Big Joe, picking np the body of the little 
dog, whose noisy barking had been heard only 
a few moments before, perceived that its life 
had recently been taken and consequently their 
foes must be near. Doubtless they were hid¬ 
ing behind the trees and the only reason they 
did not fire upon the searching party was 
because they were few in number and fear¬ 
ful of disclosing their hiding place to their 
enemies. 

Once more rejoining his friends, Big Joe said 
quietly, “Two of you must take Waldo back to 
the Castle. The rest of you come with me and 
we’ll see what we can find out about the 
Major.” 

“Do you think he was shot!” inquired Ben 
in a low voice. 

“Can’t say. There’s no great hope for him 
after what we’ve seen has happened to Waldo. 
We ’ll know more in a few minutes. Keep quiet 
and keep close to me,” he directed, as turning 
152 


FALLEN 


abruptly be advanced into the forest, proceed¬ 
ing cautiously toward the ravine which had 
provided a measure of shelter for the fugitives 
only a brief time before. 


CHAPTER XII 
IN THE CAVE 


NKNOWN to Big Joe and his com¬ 



panions the Major already had suc¬ 


ceeded in making his way back to 


Farmers’ Castle. He entered by the water 
gate, lame, bleeding and almost exhausted. 
Fortunately he was discovered by 0 ’Brien who 
rushed forth from the walls to his aid and as¬ 
sisted him when he almost fell to the ground. 

Of course his return was unknown to the 
hunter and his friends who were determined to 
search the forest carefully in the hope of dis¬ 
covering the missing leader. In view of what 
already had happened to Waldo not one of them 
was confident and after they had gone a mile 
or more from the place where their adventure 
had taken place, they abruptly stopped when 
they discovered in the damp snow, which still 
remained in the hollows, the fresh prints of 
moccasined feet. 

The silence which rested over the forest was 
not unlike that which had manifested itself 


154 


IN THE CAVE 


among the searchers. The outlines of the trees 
were dark and the sky gave promise of a com¬ 
ing storm. In the midst of their uncertainty, 
however, while all glanced keenly about them 
to discover traces of their hidden enemies, 
who could not be far away, Benoni suddenly 
said, “I’m not going to stay around here any 
longer.” 

“What are you going to do?” demanded Big 
Joe. 

“I’m going to visit my traps. There isn’t 
anything more to be found around here. We 
know what happened to Waldo and I think the 
Major is either dead or has been taken away 
captive by the redskins. I’m going to visit 
my traps if one of you will go with me.” 

“Don’t do it,” protested the hunter. “We 
ought to stick together. ’ ’ 

“Not so,” retorted Benoni. “I’ve had all 
I want of dragging around here through woods. 
The redskins aren’t very far away and prob¬ 
ably are watching us right now.” 

“ They ’ll keep their eyes on you even if you 
start for your traps,” suggested the hunter. 

“I’m going to make for the other shore. I 
shall be safe there and it won’t be long before 
I’ll leave all the Indians behind me.” 

Aware that Benoni’s purpose could not be 
changed, Big Joe no longer protested and 
155 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


simply said, “If yon are determined to go, Ben¬ 
oni, one of us ought to go with you.” 

“I’ll take Ben,” said Benoni quickly, “that 
is, if he’s not afraid to go.” 

The lad looked questioningly at the hunter 
and as the latter nodded his head, Ben said, 
“I’m perfectly willing to go, but I don’t like to 
leave the men here.” 

“They won’t need your protection,” laughed 
Benoni, who for some reason had not been as 
alarmed as his companions had been by the dis¬ 
covery of the footprints in the snow. He had 
made a large circle in the woods and inasmuch 
as he had not discovered any other marks to 
indicate the recent passing of Indians he was 
now confident that the red men had been in 
as great a haste to depart from the region after 
they had shot Waldo as his friends were to 
escape. 

“If you’re coming with me, come along,” 
said Benoni. 

Taking his rifle Ben followed his companion, 
although several times he glanced anxiously 
behind him to discover whether or not Big Joe 
still approved of his sharing in the venture of 
Benoni. The latter had declared that it had 
been more than a week since he had visited his 
traps and that he could no longer postpone ac¬ 
tion. Together the two soon passed beyond the 
156 


IN THE CAVE 


sight of the hunter and his little band and the 
intervening forest shut out even the possibility 
of hearing a report of a gun if one should be 
discharged. 

Ben, still anxious, continued behind his 
friend as Benoni swiftly led the way toward 
the river. 

When they arrived at the bank he drew forth 
his canoe from its hiding place and held it in 
position in the water while Ben, in accordance 
with Benoni’s direction, seated himself in the 
stern of the little craft. With long, powerful 
strokes, Benoni sent the light little canoe 
swiftly up the river. The ice was all gone now 
and, although the water was high and the cur¬ 
rent swift, apparently there was nothing to 
impede their progress. The dark clouds sped 
above their heads indicating that the wind was 
still blowing strongly. The canoe was moving 
in a line at least forty feet from the shore and 
Ben was eagerly scanning the rocks and trees 
past which they were swiftly moving. 

They proceeded in this manner for ten 
minutes or more when Benoni abruptly ceased 
paddling and, turning his face toward the 
shore, listened intently. 

4 ‘Hear that?” he whispered. 

“What is it?” inquired Ben. 

“It’s turkeys.” 


157 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“Yes, I hear,” said Ben after he had listened 
a moment in silence. “What are you going to 
do?” 

“We haven’t had any fresh meat of any kind 
for a long time,” said Benoni, “and I think we 
had better land and try to get a few of those 
birds. They won’t have any fat on them, but 
they’ll be a good deal better than the salt 
pork we’ve had to have twice a week for the 
last month. Picking their bones will make a 
change anyway.” 

“We can try it,” assented Ben, looking at 
the priming of his rifle as he spoke. 

“I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” said Benoni a 
moment later. “You land me on that bank 
just ahead of us and then push out into the 
river. ’ ’ 

“I want to go with you,” said Ben. 

“I’ll let you come a little later if I find any 
turkeys. If I don’t find any and if it’s only 
a trick of the redskins to get us to come ashore, 
then you’ll be a good deal better off out here 
in the river than you would be if you were with 
me.” 

“But I don’t want to leave you,” protested 
Ben eagerly. “You will be all alone.” 

“So much the better,” said Benoni quietly, 
“while I’m running round. If both of us go, 
there’ll be just twice as many chances to be 
158 


IN THE CAVE 


found out. One pair of eyes is just as good 
as two for a thing like this.” 

In spite of Ben’s further protests, Benoni in¬ 
sisted upon landing and he paddled the little 
canoe close inshore and then, leaping upon the 
bank, held the canoe while he directed Ben to 
take his place in the bow and paddle toward 
midstream. 

“It might be better,” suggested Benoni in a 
whisper, “if you went clear across to the other 
shore. I’ll whistle for you when I come back 
and you can then come over.” 

“I don’t want to do that,” protested Ben. 

“Do as you like then,” assented Benoni. 
* ‘ Keep pretty well out from shore whatever you 
do. In less than a half an hour I ought to be 
back. I won’t try to shoot any turkeys even 
if I find them. If the birds are really there, 
I’ll come back for you and then two of us will 
be twice as good as one.” 

Unwillingly Ben obeyed and paddled his lit¬ 
tle canoe about halfway across the stream. He 
was fully aware that by taking this position he 
was exposing himself to shots from either 
shore, but he was unwilling to leave Benoni en¬ 
tirely alone, and, as he was ignorant of condi¬ 
tions on the opposite shore, he decided that the 
safer as well as the wiser course would be to 
stop in midstream and be prepared instantly 
159 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


either to return for Benoni if a call came from 
him, or to escape to the opposite shore in the 
event that flight became necessary. 

The silence that rested over the river and 
forest continued unbroken. The current in the 
stream was swifter than it usually was, for the 
melting snows had filled the river almost to 
the tops of the banks. Ben’s interest was keen. 
For several minutes he watched the spot where 
Benoni had disappeared among the trees, only 
occasionally glancing up and down the river to 
discover whether or not his enemies were 
to be seen approaching from either direction. 
The silence, however, soon became oppressive. 
The gentle lapping of the water against the 
bottom of the canoe when Ben used his paddle 
to hold the little craft in position was the only 
sound that was heard. 

While Ben waited, his suspense became 
keener with every passing moment. It was 
almost impossible for him to estimate the 
passing of the time. Whether five minutes had 
elapsed or an hour he was unable to say. In 
his eagerness, he was keenly alert and now was 
expecting to discover his friend returning to 
the shore. The moments, however, still slowly 
passed and no sign of Benoni was to be seen. 
It was almost as if he had been swallowed up in 
the forest and would not again return. Ben’s 
160 


IN THE CAVE 


fears were increasing and he was about to re¬ 
turn to the shore and begin a search for his 
missing friend when suddenly he heard the re¬ 
port of several rifles. These were speedily fol¬ 
lowed by the discharge of another, and then the 
unbroken stillness once more rested over the 
scene. 

Alarmed by the sounds which he had heard, 
and convinced that Benoni was not alone, inas¬ 
much as he had distinctly heard the reports of 
several rifles, Ben’s fears increased. Had 
Benoni been attacked? Had he fallen as 
Waldo Putnam had fallen a few hours before 
this time? Once more Ben thought of the im¬ 
print of the moccasins upon the snow and again 
he was fearful that the red men were present 
in the nearby forest and perhaps already had 
killed his recent companion. The fear of the 
lad was not unnatural, for, if Benoni had fallen, 
he was alone upon the waters of the river and 
without doubt the red men would be able to 
overtake him speedily if he should attempt to 
escape from the region. 

Ben’s uncertainty, however, was abruptly 
ended when he saw emerging from the trees 
several Indians who in a crouching manner 
were approaching the shore. Doubtless they 
were the ones whose guns he had heard a few 
moments before and the fact that Benoni was 
161 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


nowhere to be seen indicated only too plainly 
to the terrified lad the fact that his friend had 
fallen, and that the Indians had followed his 
trail back to the shore in the hope of discover¬ 
ing others who might have come with the man 
whom they had killed. 

So vivid was the thought in the mind of the 
lad that he instantly turned his canoe about 
and began a wild attempt to gain the farther 
shore. A loud shout from the Indians only too 
plainly indicated that they had discovered his 
presence in the canoe and their actions in¬ 
creased Ben’s fears. Two of the red men 
quickly discharged their rifles and, although 
Ben heard the sound of one bullet as it struck 
the water near the canoe, fortunately neither 
hit him. He was now moving rapidly in his 
wild attempt to escape. 

As he glanced over his shoulder his fears re¬ 
doubled when he saw that two of the red men 
were running swiftly up the bank and it was 
plain to him that they must be racing to ob¬ 
tain a canoe which they might have hidden 
somewhere along the shore. 

In a brief time his fears were confirmed when 
he saw the two red men emerge from the forest 
carrying on their shoulders a canoe which they 
speedily launched and quickly entered. There 
were now two of them and in his desperation 
162 


IN THE CAVE 


Ben was convinced that his chances of escape 
were very frail. The Indians were experienced 
in the use of the paddle and, as they were men 
and he was only an inexperienced boy, there 
seemed no possibility of escaping. Neverthe¬ 
less the determined boy continued to move as 
swiftly as he could ply his paddles. 

He had not gone far, however, before he was 
convinced that his efforts would be fruitless, for 
his pursuers were steadily gaining upon him. 
By this time Ben had sent his canoe across the 
river and was near the right bank. Resisting 
his first impulse to land and trust for safety to 
a flight into the forest, he decided to go down 
the stream and not to land until he should be 
driven ashore by his pursuers. 

It was a source of slight comfort when he 
saw that apparently the one canoe in which his 
enemies had embarked was the only one in the 
possession of the red men. No other canoe had 
been launched, either because there was no 
other or because the Indians believed that the 
pursuit would be short and that it would not 
be necessary to send another in order to over¬ 
take the lad who was frantically trying to 
escape. 

There were moments when Ben believed that 
he was holding his own but this hope was soon 
163 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


dispelled and he was speedily convinced that if 
his pursuers continued he must be overtaken 
within a few moments. Once more he plied the 
paddle using all the strength of which he was 
possessed. The water over which he was pass¬ 
ing almost seemed to boil, so swiftly was he 
moving. Ahead of him was a cove or small 
bay which he had noticed before in his occa¬ 
sional excursions on the river. Not fully aware 
of what he was doing, Ben was heading directly 
for this spot. 

Suddenly, directly in front of him in the 
nearby rock, which was huge and projecting far 
into the river, he saw a large opening and the 
thought of trying to escape by hiding there in¬ 
stantly seized upon him. It was the work of 
only a moment to change his course and, as the 
canoe scraped the side of the rock, Ben was 
rejoiced when he discovered that it was possible 
for him to stand upon a slight ledge that pro¬ 
jected over the water. 

Grasping his gun in his right hand he stepped 
quickly ashore and gave the canoe a push with 
his foot as he turned quickly toward the open¬ 
ing he had discovered in the rock. He was well 
aware that his actions were plainly to be seen 
by his enemies but the lad was desperate. He 
certainly would have been overtaken in his 
flight and it must be almost equally certain, he 
164 


IN THE CAVE 


assured himself, that escape through the rocks 
was impossible. 

There was no time for deliberation, however, 
and acting upon the impulse of the moment he 
advanced swiftly into the opening. 

He was startled when he became aware a 
moment later that he was in the entrance to 
what seemed to be a large cave. There were 
two places where there were faint streaks of 
light appearing which indicated that there was 
only a slight connection with the world out¬ 
side. His eyes now were somewhat accustomed 
to the darkness and he was walking along a 
ledge that extended at least two feet over the 
water moving swiftly below him. 

As he moved farther within he soon became 
aware also that his pathway was rising. He 
had not known of the existence of the cave nor 
had he any knowledge of what might be farther 
on. The one wild impulse in his heart now was 
to escape from his immediate pursuers and he 
was not without hope that he might discover 
a hiding place which would provide a shelter, at 
least for a time. 

The darkness seemed to the breathless boy 
to become more intense as he advanced. He 
still was able to see that the ledge over which 
he had been moving extended beyond him and 
eager to place the greatest possible distance be- 
165 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


tween him and the entrance he moved rapidly 
forward. His rifle was still in his hand and 
he was sure that the powder in the horn which 
he had slung over his shoulder was dry. His 
bullet pouch also was well filled but he did not 
have a mouthful of food and if it should be¬ 
come necessary for him to remain long in the 
cave he was aware that hunger and thirst would 
speedily become even more dangerous enemies 
than the red men who had been pursuing him 
in their canoe. 

The thought of the Indians caused Ben to 
stop abruptly for a moment while he listened 
intently to discover, if possible, whether or not 
his pursuers had entered the cave. Escape ap¬ 
parently was as hopeless as when he had first 
entered, for there might be entrances ahead of 
him of which the Indians might know and by 
taking advantage of them they easily could 
catch him between them. In a moment, how¬ 
ever, this problem was solved for him and in 
a manner that was as startling as it was un¬ 
expected. 


CHAPTEE XIII 

THE WHITE MAN’S QUESTION 

B EN now was fearful that he could 
make no further progress within the 
cave. His sturdy efforts, together with 
the intense excitement of his flight, had begun 
to show their effect. He was breathing hard 
and crouching low, prepared for flight at any 
moment. 

He stopped abruptly when he fancied that he 
heard the sound of Indians approaching. He 
looked toward the entrance but he had ad¬ 
vanced so far that it was impossible for him 
to see it in the dim light which now surrounded 
him. Not a sound broke in upon the intense 
stillness. For a moment he had a feeling as if 
he were being smothered and almost believed 
that the walls were being slowly pressed to¬ 
gether. 

Uncertain as to the coming of his foes, he 
turned and walked cautiously farther within 
the cave. It was impossible for him to discern 
whether or not the great hole in the wall be- 
167 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


came larger as he proceeded, for the light still 
was not sufficient to enable him to look far in 
advance. However, the ledge over which he 
had been walking had now become exceedingly 
narrow and he was convinced that he would be 
able to advance only a few feet farther. The 
projecting stone became so narrow that it 
seemed to be absorbed in the side of the wall 
which extended far above him, so that he could 
not see just how far he was able to proceed. 

His fear of the Indians, however, was so 
great, his recent experience so exciting, and his 
conviction that some of them already were ap¬ 
proaching and even now were between him and 
the river, cutting off every possibility of escape, 
was so strong that in his desperation he decided 
there was no course for him to follow except 
to go ahead as far as he could. Thoughts of 
Benoni and of Waldo were still so fresh in his 
mind and so terrifying as he recalled them that 
he was almost unmindful of any peril from 
which he might suffer within the cave except 
that of being captured by his red-skinned foes. 
Anything was preferable to that. 

In his desperation he decided that, although 
he must proceed farther within the hill, he 
should now abandon the ledge which was not 
more than twelve inches wide where he was 
standing. Instantly he seated himself and slid 
168 


THE WHITE MAN’S QUESTION 

into the water. He was doing his utmost to 
protect his rifle, which he was holding high 
above his head. 

He was greatly surprised when he found that 
the water into which he had stepped came only 
to his knees. Its shallowness and the fact that 
it was intensely cold were the most real of his 
impressions. Cautiously he advanced, striving 
to make sure of his foothold with every step. 
Soon the water became deeper and rose to his 
waist. It was still intensely cold, apparently 
much colder than the water of the river out¬ 
side. 

In his fear that he might not be able to ad¬ 
vance in the deeper water, he was surprised 
when once more the ground beneath his feet in¬ 
dicated that the water was becoming shallow 
again. Unless he was greatly deceived, there 
was also an increasing light in the cave. The 
question instantly arose as to whether or not 
there was a break in the side of the cave 
through which he might perhaps escape to the 
outside of the hill. In the hope that he might 
find this conjecture to be true he pressed for¬ 
ward with renewed hopefulness until he gained 
a place where the water barely covered his feet. 

Here he stopped once more and peered anx¬ 
iously behind him. Were the Indians still fol¬ 
lowing him? That they must have seen him 
169 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


when he fled to the cave was unquestionable. 
It was probable also that they were familiar 
with the interior of the cave in which Ben now 
found himself. If that were true then there 
might be approaches of which they might avail 
themselves and that would enable them to fall 
upon him when he had no visible means of 
knowing of their presence. He dared not at¬ 
tempt to retrace his way for fear of the In¬ 
dians who might be between him and the exit. 
Even if there were none of them within the 
cave, doubtless some were watching outside and 
their discovery of his attempt to escape would 
be greeted by shots from their rifles. 

Ben was so fully convinced that certain of 
the red men had entered the cave and now were 
between him and the possibility of escape by 
the entrance that once more he decided that 
his sole hope lay in advancing. Accordingly 
he frantically resumed his wading and pro¬ 
ceeded swiftly in the direction from which now 
steadily increasing light was seen. Indeed, 
this light became stronger with every passing 
moment. The troubled boy was able to see his 
hands before him and, as he looked about the 
cave, he became aware that instead of becom¬ 
ing narrower the space had opened up until he 
was moving through what might have been a 
great chamber in a hall. Not far before him 
170 


THE WHITE MAN’S QUESTION 

the shelf or ledge disappeared entirely. A 
wall of sheer rock rose on his right, but he was 
unable to see distinctly what was on the oppo¬ 
site side of the stream. 

He looked up the steep side and tried to de¬ 
termine whether or not he would be able to 
climb it. For a moment he was hopeless and 
then once more recovering his courage he de¬ 
cided to try, although he was still without 
knowledge of what success might bring him. 

Fortunately he found a foothold and though 
twice he slipped backwards in his efforts to 
climb, at last he raised himself by grasping a 
projecting stone and then placed his feet upon 
a ledge which before he had not seen. His eyes 
now were more accustomed to the darkness and 
he was able to see above him. There were other 
projections also leading up to an opening 
through which the light was pouring. 

The opening apparently was sufficiently large 
to enable him to crawl through it and in a new 
spirit of determination he once more renewed 
his efforts and did not cease his attempts until 
at last he had gained the opening he desired. 
His hands were torn and bleeding, the moc¬ 
casins on his feet provided only a slight pro¬ 
tection against the sharp stones, but unmind¬ 
ful of his pain Ben resolutely held to his task 
and at last stood in the open space. 

171 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


The exit was not as wide as he had thought, 
but without much difficulty he contrived to 
squeeze through the narrow opening between 
the walls. In a brief time he found himself 
outside the hill and in his excitement he stopped 
to peer intently all about him. 

As he glanced behind him he was confident 
that the opening into the hill at some time had 
been enlarged by men. There were marks on 
the walls as if they had been made by axes or 
sledge hammers and it was also plain that some 
one had been working at the place very recently. 
There were fresh tracks among the chipped 
stones and to the troubled boy it seemed as if 
the Shawnees must have been preparing for a 
hiding place if a new uprising of the Indians 
were soon to occur. 

Although Ben many times had been up and 
down the river he had not seen the opening 
into the cave until his flight. Nor had any one 
ever told him of the place. Now, after he had 
made his way successfully through the under¬ 
ground passage-way and had found evidences 
that disclosed the knowledge his enemies had of 
the hiding place, it was easy for him to under¬ 
stand that the Indians doubtless were planning 
to make special use of this cave which extended 
more than one hundred fifty feet beneath the 
hill near the shore. 


172 


THE WHITE MAN’S QUESTION 

Ben, however, had no time nor opportunity 
to consider these matters, inasmuch as his su¬ 
preme purpose now was to escape from the re¬ 
gion. He was positive that the Indians in the 
canoe who had followed him would not easily 
abandon their pursuit. Doubtless they also 
knew of the cave and of the exit on the hill¬ 
side. If that were true then they must have 
prepared to overtake him when he attempted to 
escape. 

The thought renewed Ben’s alarm and he 
glanced quickly all about him. On the hillside 
the maples and the beeches had grown to a con¬ 
siderable size. In the valley below there were 
spots in which the snow still remained. 
Chilled by the cold water through which he had 
waded, wearied by his recent efforts to escape, 
Ben still was determined not to give up but to 
do his best to get away from the region. Cau¬ 
tiously he advanced, moving slowly from tree 
to tree and all the time proceeding down the 
hillside. In the narrow valley below there 
might be opportunities for hiding and he was 
positive that in his efforts to free himself he 
would meet with fewer obstacles than if he 
should try to move along the side of the hill. 

He had moved out from a clump of five or six 
trees that were growing closely together and 
was beginning to hope that he was not seen by 
173 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


any lurking foes when abruptly he was hailed 
by four Indians and a man who, although he 
was dressed like his companions, was never¬ 
theless evidently a white man. Quickly the 
little band surrounded Ben and the white man 
spoke. It was difficult for Ben to understand 
him and even in his alarm he thought that in 
all probability the white man had been living 
so long among the Indians that he had in a 
measure lost his use of the tongue in which he 
was born. 

“Who are you?” demanded the white man. 

“My name is Ben,” replied the boy quietly. 

“Where do you come from?” 

“I just came through the cave.” 

“I know, I see,” growled the man. It was 
evident to Ben that he had no mercy to expect 
from the leader of his captors. The face of 
the man was brutal and its appearance in¬ 
dicated that it had been long since he had ap¬ 
plied water to that part of his anatomy. 

“I know, I know,” repeated the man, “but 
where were you going? Where did you come 
from?” 

“I came from Farmers ’ Castle.” 

“What were you doing?” 

“We had heard that a couple of our men had 
been killed by the red men and we went out to 
look up their bodies and bring them back to 
174 


THE WHITE MAN'S QUESTION 

the Castle. While we were doing that a lot of 
redskins set upon us and I just managed to 
get away." 

“Did they chase you?" 

“Yes. A canoe was after me, but I found 
the opening to the cave and hid in there." 

“Who were the Indians?" 

“Shawnees." 

The white man turned and spoke to his com¬ 
panions, but Ben was unable to understand 
what he was saying. Once more facing the lad 
the white man said, “Do you know how to 
build a hut?" 

“I can try." 

‘ 4 Have you ever built one ?' 9 

“Yes, my brother and I made one and slept 
in it a good many nights when we were out 
hunting . 9 9 

The white man was silent for a moment as 
he looked sternly, almost savagely, at the boy 
and then he said, “Where do you live? What 
is your name?" 

Ben described the place which his father and 
his brothers had settled, but before he had fin¬ 
ished the white man again broke in savagely, 
“Yes, yes, I know. The Ohio Company was 
supposed to own that land. They don't own a 
foot. You have no business there or any¬ 
where else in this part of the country. Why 
175 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


don’t you go back beyond the Alleghenies 
where you belong?” Then his expression 
changed quickly and he renewed his question, 
“I was asking you if you knew how to build a 
hut.” 

“I told you I would try.” 

11 You ’ll have to do more than ‘try.’ You’ll 
have to do it. I promised my Indian squaw 
that I would bring back a white man who would 
build her a hut. You’re only a piece o’ man, 
but if you can do that for her it will be a good 
thing for you.” 

“I’m willing to do my best,” answered Ben 
soberly. He was well aware of the glances 
which came from his Indian captors and was 
in no way deceived by the apparent interest 
of the white man who was the spokesman for 
them all. 

“We may be a bit easier with you,” declared 
the white man, “if we find you can do what 
you say. Of course we can’t do much till we 
know. You’ll have to come along with us and 
mind you don’t try any tricks, or it’ll be worse 
for you.” 

Whatever hopes Ben might have had con¬ 
cerning easy treatment by his captors, be¬ 
cause of questions of the white man, were 
speedily dispersed when his gun was taken 
from him and a long leathern strap or rope 
176 


THE WHITE MAN’S QUESTION 

was adjusted to his neck while his hands 
were tied behind him. The long rope was fas¬ 
tened to the arm of one of the Indians who 
marched directly behind Ben when the little 
band withdrew from the place. In this man¬ 
ner the procession was maintained for two 
hours when the sun sank below the western 
hills. 

Ben was thoroughly wearied from his stren¬ 
uous exercises of the day. He had not had 
any food since early morning and he was 
thirsty as well as hungry. He was well aware, 
however, how useless as well as perilous it 
would be for him to complain, and doing his 
utmost to conceal his suffering he was silent 
while the little band continued on its way 
through the forest. 

Why they had departed from the river he did 
not know. They plainly were Shawnees and 
must be in contact with the Indians who had 
slain Benoni and Waldo. 

When night fell and Ben’s captors made 
preparations for the night he was dismayed 
when he discovered that he was not to share 
in the meat which the Indians cooked. The 
odor intensified his hunger and he was almost 
on the point of asking for food, but fortunately 
restrained his desire. 

When at last the Indians had completed their 
177 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


meal they arranged a fire for the night and then 
bent down a low sapling to which they fastened 
a cowbell. Then the strap by which Ben’s 
hands and feet were bound was tied to the little 
tree in such a manner that if he stirred, his 
motion would shake the sapling and the cowbell 
would ring an alarm. 

It was a long and dreary night for the trou¬ 
bled boy. He did not know just where the In¬ 
dians were encamped and was aware of the 
difficulty of retracing his way, even if the op¬ 
portunity should be given him. 

However, when morning came he was given 
a share of the meat and permitted to quench 
his thirst from the spring near which the camp 
had been made. 

The flight was resumed as soon as the food 
had been eaten, and throughout the day, with 
the leather strap still adjusted to his neck and 
his hands bound by a leather thong, he contin¬ 
ued through the forest. Occasionally he saw 
an open or cleared space among the trees, but 
for the most part the Indians proceeded 
through the woods, although there was no 
attempt to make haste. 

When the second night fell the camp again 
was made near a spring from which Ben was 
permitted to drink his fill. Again the Indians 
selected a sapling which they bent over and to 
178 


THE WHITE MAN'S QUESTION 

which they fastened the strap by which Ben 
was bound as had been done the previous night. 

The lad now was so thoroughly wearied that 
it was difficult even for him to sleep. Con¬ 
vinced that there was no necessity for a guard, 
inasmuch as their prisoner was securely bound, 
the four Indians and the white man stretched 
themselves upon the ground around their camp 
fire and soon were soundly sleeping. 

Ben, however, had been unable to close his 
eyes. He was suffering intensely and his feel¬ 
ing of despair increased his misery. Forlorn, 
hungry, chilled, he did his utmost to fall asleep, 
but somehow his eyes refused to obey his com¬ 
mands. As if to make matters even worse rain 
began to fall and soon the young prisoner was 
trembling and shaking from the cold. He was 
unaware that the chilling rain itself was to 
prove its friendliness and provide a way by 
which his misery was to be modified. 


CHAPTER XIV 


THE WARNING 

M EANWHILE it is necessary for ns to 
return to the fortunes of those who 
were confined within the narrow lim¬ 
its of Farmers’ Castle. Throughout the winter 
a steadily increasing number of people had fled 
to the place for refuge. Families as well as 
individuals from the neighborhood had found 
life too filled with peril to remain alone in 
the little huts they had built for homes. In¬ 
deed, plans had been carefully made for 
11 swarming . 19 

About two miles below the Castle itself a 
second large enclosure had been made and into 
the blockhouse within it more than forty people 
already had found a place of refuge. 

Nor was the new enterprise confined merely 
to this new place of defense. There were more 
than two hundred people in Farmers’ Castle. 
Some of the settlers had hesitated to cast in 
their fortunes with the mass. Another new 
blockhouse had been built capable of providing 
refuge for at least twenty. 

180 


THE WARNING 

In addition there were not a few of the set¬ 
tlers who had insisted npon remaining in their 
own homes, trusting either to the cold winter 
or to their own ability to defend themselves 
against the enemies. 

Against the insistent advice of the leaders in 
Farmers’ Castle certain of these men had 
formed a plan by which together they left their 
homes and looked after their possessions. In 
the large new blockhouse, to which reference 
has already been made, there was no order. 
Sentries had not been established nor had spies 
been organized to watch for the approach of 
the red men by night or day. 

Early in January the river had frozen until 
a heavy solid mass of ice covered the waters. 
In the January thaw which followed, this ice 
had partly melted and then again had frozen 
until the surface was sufficiently strong to bear 
the weight of men and horses. About twenty 
rods back from the river three of the settlers, 
all men, had been living together in a hut. 
About the same distance below them was 
another hut similar in its construction and 
occupied by three other men. The sight of In¬ 
dians had been common throughout the preced¬ 
ing summer. While the Indians had been hunt¬ 
ing or loitering about from one home to another 
they had learned of the conditions under which 
181 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


the settlers were living and had carefully made 
their plans for driving their enemies from the 
region. 

The time had now come when the Indians de¬ 
termined to begin their campaign, although as 
a rule they did not enter upon the warpath 
until spring had appeared. Upon the new 
large blockhouse, to which reference has been 
made, where twenty people had found a place 
of refuge, came an attack one night, the story 
of which was frequently told and long remem¬ 
bered among the people of that day. 

Soon after dusk, a band of prowling Indians 
approached the place. They had been not in¬ 
frequent visitors throughout the winter and 
had been fed by the inmates, although certain 
of the leaders had strongly opposed such ac¬ 
tion. Suddenly the leader of the Indian band, 
who was a warrior of unusual size and 
strength, leaving the most of his followers be¬ 
hind him in the forest, stepped forward and 
opened the door of the blockhouse. Placing 
himself squarely within the entrance in such a 
way that it was impossible to close the door 
without driving him from the place he was oc¬ 
cupying, he held his position while his com¬ 
panions at a signal rushed through the 
doorway. 

The attack was so sudden and unexpected 
182 


THE WARNING 


that the whites in their confusion, which was 
due largely to their lack of order and prepara¬ 
tion, fell to the floor. One man climbed the 
rude chimney, for the fire in the fireplace at 
that time was low, and successfully made his 
way to the roof of the building. His success, 
however, was only momentary, for the Indians 
speedily discovered his hiding place and the es¬ 
caping pioneer soon fell to the ground, a vic¬ 
tim of the shots of four or five of the Indians. 

A small boy crawled for refuge underneath 
one of the beds that stood along the side walls 
of the room. The big Indian who had gained 
the entrance to the blockhouse raised his toma¬ 
hawk and was about to slay the little fellow 
when the boy began to beg piteously that his 
life should be spared. At last his prayers were 
granted and the feet and hands of the lad were 
tightly bound while the Indians continued their 
depredation. 

Silas Bullard, or Si as he was commonly 
known, together with one of his companions, 
managed somehow to flee from the place and 
escaped into the woods. They ran until they 
were nearly exhausted and, although they were 
not fully aware of the direction in which they 
were moving, they were fleeing toward 
Farmers’ Castle. 

It was nearly midnight when they at last ar- 
183 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


rived at the defense. Almost exhausted by 
their exertions and nearly unbalanced by the 
terror that possessed them after the bloody at¬ 
tack they had seen upon their companions, they 
had to be helped within the stockade and for 
several minutes were unable to speak. 

When at last they recovered sufficiently to 
describe the adventure through which they had 
passed, the excitement in Farmers’ Castle be¬ 
came intense. The feeling was intensified by 
the fact that early in the morning of the same 
day numerous tracks of Indian moccasins had 
been found in the few remaining places where 
snow was still to be seen from the walls of the 
blockhouse. Doubtless the Indians had not 
made their attack because they found the senti¬ 
nels awake. It is more than likely that they 
would not have attacked the other blockhouse 
if similar preparations had been made there. 

The report of Silas Bullard was so star¬ 
tling, however, and aroused such terror among 
the inmates of the Castle, that it was decided 
that two boys immediately should be sent from 
the place to warn all the settlers who still re¬ 
mained in their own homes within two miles of 
the Castle, to come at once for shelter to the 
Castle. 

To Ich’s great delight, for the lad was among 
those who were more excited than alarmed by 
184 


THE WARNING 


the reports which had been brought of the vari¬ 
ous attacks, he was selected as one of the two 
to carry the word to the settlers. He was to 
move down the river while his companion was 
to go two miles up the stream on a similar task. 

Ich was carrying his rifle and when he first 
departed from Farmers’ Castle he was moving 
so rapidly that he soon discovered that he 
would not be able to maintain the swift pace 
at which he was running. 

He soon arrived at the log house occupied by 
a young couple that had come from Massachu¬ 
setts the preceding autumn and he gave to them 
the message he had received. He was sur¬ 
prised when both the young man and his wife 
sturdily refused to heed the warning. They 
declared they had been on friendly terms with 
the Indians throughout the summer and had 
been assured that they would not suffer from 
any attack the red men later might make. Ich 
in his haste did not remain to argue and as 
soon as he had delivered his message sped for¬ 
ward to carry the word to the settlers farther 
down the river. 

At the second place where he stopped, his 
word created such an alarm that he was not 
obliged to describe what had taken place at the 
blockhouse. The people instantly gathered to¬ 
gether a few of their belongings and fled for 
185 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


refuge to Farmers’ Castle. It was not until 
Ich came near to the blockhouse which had been 
attacked that he began to discover signs of 
the struggle which had been reported. 

His first discovery was the body of a white 
man whom he had known well. The man was 
dead, probably having been shot while he was 
attempting to escape from the blockhouse. 
With a shudder Ich discovered also that the 
man’s scalp had been removed. The lad’s face 
was blanched when, after his investigation, he 
again arose and looked fearfully all about him. 
Not a sign of the presence of his foes did he 
discover. The silence that rested over the 
forest was unbroken. Not a living being was 
to be seen. 

Ich was now thoroughly frightened. The 
story of the attack when first he had heard it at 
Farmers ’ Castle had been somewhat vague and 
he had not applied it to himself. Now, how¬ 
ever, that he was approaching the place where 
the terrible scene had been enacted, his fears 
returned and in his excitement he was trem¬ 
bling as he proceeded. He had no thought, 
however, of fleeing from the region and, al¬ 
though he was shaking in his fear and watchful 
of the woods before him as he moved from tree 
to tree, he had no thought of abandoning the 
task which had been assigned him. 

186 




THE WARNING 


Within a few minutes Ich discovered other 
evidences of the recent attack by the Indians. 
There were other bodies of people who had 
fallen in their attempt to flee, but it was not 
until he had advanced a hundred yards or 
more that he became aware that only the 
charred ruins of the blockhouse remained. 

Glancing fearfully all about him, Ich was 
still unable to discover any of his prowling foes 
and as he darted from tree to tree he soon 
drew near the smoking ruins of the blockhouse. 
It was plain to him that the charred remains of 
several people were to be seen in the ashes be¬ 
fore him. There were no evidences of a strug¬ 
gle having occurred, for the building itself had 
been nearly consumed in the fire which had 
been set before the red men departed from the 
spot. 

Ich was still further alarmed when he sud¬ 
denly discovered the forms of men approaching 
through the adjacent woods. Seizing his rifle 
he turned to flee from the place but a shout 
served to recall him and as he glanced toward 
the approaching party his relief was marked 
when he discovered the hunter, Big Joe, lead¬ 
ing the band. 

The men were moving at a “dog trot” as the 
settlers defined the form of running which they 
had copied from the Indians. In a brief time 
187 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


Big Joe approached the place where Ich was 
standing and in a low voice said, “What have 
you found, lad? Any one alive?” 

“Not one,” answered Ich. “I’ve found two 
or three dead and scalped but I haven’t seen 
one that escaped.” 

“You wouldn’t be likely to,” answered the 
hunter, “because if they escaped they’d leave 
this region as fast as they could go.” 

The hunter was silent for a moment as he 
peered intently into the smoking ashes and 
then turning again to Ich he inquired, “Did 
you find any of the bodies in the fire?” 

“Yes,” replied Ich in a low voice. “I think 
I saw two or three.” 

The hunter was silent as he walked around 
the remains of the house, peering intently, as 
he moved, into the still smoking mass of ashes. 
As he returned to the place where Ich was 
standing he said, “There isn’t much that we 
can do now. After you left Farmers’ Castle 
we decided that we’d send a force down here 
because we weren’t sure whether or not the 
redskins had left the place.” 

“I didn’t see any signs of any,” said Ich 
somewhat proudly. “I kept my eyes open all 
the way but I didn’t see a living soul outside 
of the log houses where I stopped. When I 
came down here, I’ll own up that I was pretty 
188 


THE WARNING 


badly scared. I hadn’t been before that time, 
but when I got here it seemed to me I could see 
an Indian behind every tree.” 

‘ 1 That’s only natural,” said Big Joe quietly. 

* i This is as far as you are to go, isn’t it?” 

“Yes,” answered Ich. “Tom Holmes was 
ordered to go two miles the other side of the 
Castle and I was to come down here. I warned 
everybody on the way but some of them 
wouldn’t pay any attention.” 

“I guess there wasn’t but one of those,” 
responded Big Joe quietly. “That was Sam 
Halsey. He says he’s going to stay right on 
the spot, but I’m telling you, lad, that he won’t 
stay very long. The red men are going on the 
warpath. ’ ’ 

“What makes you think so?” asked Ich 
quickly. 

“Because of this,” answered Big Joe as he 
held up a war club in his hand. 

“Where did you get that?” demanded Ich 
excitedly. 

“Just as we left the woods to come to this 
place. ’ ’ 

“What do you think it means?” 

“It means only one thing.” 

“What is that?” protested Ich. 

“It is the redskins’ way of making a declara¬ 
tion of war. This is the way they did two 
189 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


years ago when they left their war clubs be¬ 
hind them after they had burned and shot 
down the settlers they had attacked/ ’ 

“Do you think it means that we are going 
to have a war with them this summer ?” 

“I do,” replied the hunter quietly almost as 
if Indian warfare was a matter in which he 
was not deeply interested. 

“Where do you think it will start?” 

“The good -Lord only knows. I certainly 
don’t.” 

“Do you think they will begin soon?” asked 
Ich. The lad was highly elated over his con¬ 
versation with the hunter, who usually was si¬ 
lent and not inclined to talk to any one, much 
less to the boys. However, Ich was aware of 
the warm friendship of Big Joe and was con¬ 
vinced that the hunter really was deeply con¬ 
cerned over the prospect of an outbreak by the 
Shawnees and other tribes of the region. 

“There isn’t anything more we can do,” 
said Big Joe at last, beckoning to his compan¬ 
ions to approach from the wood. “We might 
as well go back to the Castle. Nobody knows 
what the women and children are doing back 
there. They were all mightily upset this 
morning when the report came of what had 
been done here at the blockhouse.” 

“I’m afraid they won’t feel much better 
190 


THE WARNING 

when we get back there and you tell them what 
we've found." 

“To be sure they won't," acknowledged the 
hunter. His companions, however, had mean¬ 
while approached and even while they were 
consulting, Big Joe insisted that a guard 
should be established, one on the east and the 
other on the west of the little clearing which 
had been made around the blockhouse. An 
earnest consultation followed, but it soon ended 
when it was found that the men were mostly of 
one mind and that they all agreed with the 
suggestion of Big Joe that they should return 
to Farmers' Castle not only to protect the 
place but also to quiet the fears of many of the 
inmates. 

The alarm which an Indian uprising created 
along the border is well nigh beyond the com¬ 
prehension of people to-day. The very lone¬ 
liness of the pioneers added to their alarm. 
Then, too, the Indian method of warfare which, 
instead of planning for battles, largely de¬ 
pended upon picking off isolated settlers while 
they were at work in the fields or alone in their 
homes added to the terror of all. The discov¬ 
ery by the hunter of the huge war club, which 
the Indians had left behind them, made still 
more certain the fact that a general Indian up¬ 
rising was about to take place. In that event, 
191 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


the sole hope of safety, at the least for a time, 
for the sturdy settlers, was in uniting. 

Big Joe was sceptical of any concerted at¬ 
tack on Farmers’ Castle by the Indians because 
of the location of the little fortress and also be¬ 
cause its approaches were so thoroughly 
guarded. He was aware, however, that an at¬ 
tack was not an impossibility because the In¬ 
dians in recent years apparently had been 
changing their methods and it was not an un¬ 
usual sight to see them marching in orderly 
formation. Naturally their methods were dif¬ 
ferent from those of the whites but the effect¬ 
iveness of the Indians’ plan was not to be 
lightly taken. 

Indeed, Big Joe was not the only man on the 
border who believed in the ability of the leaders 
of the Indians, and that among them Little 
Turtle was an outstanding man of genius. 
This conviction was shared by many others 
along the border. 

“We’ll go back now,” said the hunter after 
a brief time. “We’d better go back just as we 
came. If Sam Holmes hasn’t thought better 
by this time, I think we’d better pick him up 
body and breeches and take him along with us. 
If he doesn’t know enough to take care of him¬ 
self, then we ought to have mercy on his little 
wife. She’s one of the sweetest, bravest little 
192 


THE WARNING 


women that ever helped to take up land from 
the Ohio Company. She’s too good a woman 
to let her stay with her husband and be scalped 
by the Shawnees. ’ ’ 

The returning band had not discovered any 
of their foes when at last they arrived at the 
little log house of Sam Holmes. No one was 
discovered within it and apparently Sam had 
decided that for once at least it was better for 
him to heed the warnings of his friends than to 
remain alone where he was certain to be 
attacked. 

“Pm thinking,” said Big Joe, as the party 
resumed its march, “that Sam’s wife may have 
got him to come to reason. If she did, it’s the 
first time, I’m sure, that Sam ever did such a 
thing in his whole life. He’s just as obstinate 
as a mule and he won’t listen to reason.” 

1 ‘ How do you know ? ’ ’ inquired Ich. 

“Because I’ve told him what to do lots of 
times and he doesn’t pay any more attention 
than he would to a chickadee.” 

“Maybe,” suggested Ich, “he wasn’t so dead 
sure that you knew so much more than he did. ’ ’ 

“I was just telling him for his own good,” 
said Big Joe slowly. 

“That was mighty kind of you,” laughed 
Ich, who, now that he was once more in the 
company of his friends, had recovered largely 
193 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


from the alarm which had recently seized him. 

Several times after the return march had 
been resumed, Ich glanced slyly at the hunter, 
but as Big Joe apparently was serene in his 
self-confidence, the boy did not refer to his re¬ 
cent words. Big Joe was all right. He was 
true-hearted and absolutely reliable. But he 
was so self-confident and so thoroughly con¬ 
vinced that his own knowledge was superior 
to that of any of his companions that there 
were times when his natural egotism was a 
source of fun for the people that knew him well. 

The entire band proceeded silently on its 
way, every man alert and watchful. There 
was nothing seen, however, to alarm them until 
they once more stood within the stockade of 
Farmers’ Castle. There, however, their ex¬ 
citement increased when they were greeted by 
the sight before them. 


CHAPTER XV 

THE BROTHERS DEPART 

W HEN Ich passed through the gate¬ 
way he saw in the square a band 
of thirty or more men who appar¬ 
ently were preparing to depart hastily from 
the Castle. As the lad became aware of the 
intense excitement that seemed to pervade the 
assembly he ran eagerly to a place where he 
saw his friend Tom Holmes, who had been sent 
northward on an errand similar to the one on 
which Ich had been sent to the south. 

“What is it? What is it, Tom?” asked Ich 
excitedly. 

“Why, they’ve got word that—” Tom 
stopped abruptly as the heavy roll of the drums 
broke in upon the silence. Four of the drum¬ 
mers were standing together and beating the 
long roll. 

Just what was implied was not apparent to 
Ich who turned again in his eagerness to Tom 
and asked, “What is that for? What’s gone 
wrong?” 


195 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“I told you,” replied Tom, turning his eyes 
away from the drummer. 

“No, you didn’t. You started to but you 
didn’t finish what you had to say. ’ ’ 

“Well, they’ve got word,” said Tom, “that 
the Indians are ready for a march on Farmers ’ 
Castle. We’ve had a watch here all night and 
word has come that down at the big block¬ 
house—” 

“How did you get word from the big block¬ 
house?” interrupted Ich. “I’ve just come 
from there myself. ’ ’ 

“Why, Timothy Gardner got in here about 
half an hour ago and he reported that all the 
people in the blockhouse were killed. He was 
as white as a sheet.” 

“Well, they weren’t all killed,” said Ich, 
“but some of them were. I hope I may never 
see another sight like that.” 

The lad shuddered as he spoke, for the recol¬ 
lections of the ghastly scenes through which he 
had passed only a few hours before were still 
vivid. 

“You ask Big Joe about it,” he continued. 
“I never saw the hunter so excited as he was 
down there. I warned everybody along the 
river to come here for it wasn’t safe for them 
to stay where they were. ’ ’ 

“Did they come?” 


196 


THE BROTHERS DEPART 


“I don’t know,” answered Ich. “I did my 
part when I carried the message to them. I 
know one thing, though.” 

‘ 4 What’s that?” demanded Tom. 

4 4 Big Joe says the Indians have made a dec¬ 
laration of war. You know how they did that, 
don’t you?” 

44 No,” answered Tom. 44 I didn’t know that 
the redskins ever did a thing like that. I 
thought they hit you with their tomahawks be¬ 
fore they told you why they were going to do 
it.” 

44 Sometimes they do,” admitted Ich, 44 but 
Big Joe brought into the blockhouse a big war 
club he had found, out near the edge of the 
clearing. He said that was the way the In¬ 
dians took to show that, after this time, they 
were going to fight. ’ ’ 

4 4 I don’t know what they call what they were 
doing before this, then,” said Tom. 

44 Did you get word to all your people?” 
asked Ich, as a brief silence came over the 
assembly. 

44 Every one,” said Tom. 

44 Did they all come down to the Castle?” 

44 1 don’t know. I’m like you. I did my part 
when I took the message the Captain gave me. 
If they don’t do what he told them to, the fault 
isn’t mine.” 


197 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


The boys became silent when once more the 
long heavy roll of the drums was heard and 
from the movements of the band it became ap¬ 
parent that the men were about to depart from 
the Castle. 

Eager as Ich was to share in all the exciting 
events, he was too weary to ask permission to 
join the men who were about to depart. He 
watched the sturdy pioneers as at the command 
of their leader they formed and marched to¬ 
ward the gate. In a brief time they had de¬ 
parted from the Castle and, although many of 
the inmates watched them from the upper win¬ 
dows, they soon were lost to sight. 

Although he was wearied by his recent exer¬ 
tions, Ich began to search for his brother. He 
was more alarmed when he was unable to find 
any one who had recently seen Ben within the 
stockade. Ich’s fears increased still more 
when he frantically began to search through¬ 
out the place. An hour later, however, he was 
convinced that his brother was missing. What 
had become of him was now a question that Ich 
asked with trembling lips. He was devotedly 
attached to Ben, in spite of his apparent un¬ 
willingness to be directed by his older brother. 
He had seen Ben when he had departed with 
the half dozen men from the Castle and now 
he was trying to find one of the little band 
198 


THE BROTHERS DEPART 


that might be able to tell him of the experi¬ 
ences they had met with in their expedition. 

At last Ich chanced upon Robert Stone, one 
of the men who had gone in the morning, and 
running quickly to him he asked eagerly, 
“Where is Ben?” 

“I can’t tell you,” replied Stone. 

“Wasn’t he with you yesterday morning 
when you left the Castle?” 

“Yes.” 

“Well, where is he now?” 

“I don’t know,” replied Stone quietly. 
Then as he saw the distress of the lad before 
him he said in a tone of voice which he intended 
to be sympathetic, “Probably he’ll show up in 
a little while. Our party got all broke up.” 

“What do you mean?” demanded Ich 
quickly. “Who broke it?” 

“Well, a couple wanted to land to get some 
turkeys that they heard gobbling.” 

As Stone became silent, Ich said, “Did they 
get them?” 

“There weren’t any gobblers there except 
redskins,” explained Stone. “We are per¬ 
fectly sure they got both of the men who were 
fooled by their gobbles. We tried to find some 
trace of them afterward but we couldn’t find 
a thing and finally had to come away without 
them. The trapper was determined to leave 
199 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


ns and go the round of his traps but none of 
us thought he ought to go alone, so Ben went 
with him.’ 7 

“And they haven’t come back yet?” asked 
Ich in a low voice. 

“Not yet,” said Stone quietly. “That 
doesn’t mean that they won’t come, though 
they may have their troubles in getting here. 
It is the same all the way from Fort Pitt to 
Mackinaw. The seven tribes are just ready to 
start on the warpath and in some places they 
aren’t even waiting to start. They’re picking 
off the settlers before they begin their march. 
It was a fool thing to do to go out and look for 
Waldo or anybody else. But our men would 
go and Ben was determined to go with them. 
There isn’t anything you can do except to 
wait. ’ ’ 

“I guess you’re right,” answered Ich as he 
turned slowly from the place. 

Both of his brothers were now out of the 
Castle and, while he was not alarmed for his 
older brother, his fears for Ben became in¬ 
creasingly strong. Several times it almost 
seemed to him that he could hear the shrill 
whistle of the lad and once he turned squarely 
around when it seemed as if some one was call¬ 
ing his name from the forest beyond. These 
incidents, however, served to increase the 
200 


THE BROTHERS DEPART 


alarm in Ich’s heart and when night fell and 
darkness began to creep over the region and 
his brother still was missing, poor Ich was in 
a state of mind that cannot be described. 

Again and again he came back to see Stone 
and learn whether or not he had heard of the 
return of any of the men who were in his party 
when they had gone forth in the morning of the 
preceding day to search for the body of their 
friend whom they believed to have been slain 
by the red men. The hours, however, brought 
no relief to Ich and when at last in the dark¬ 
ness he took his blanket and sought his place 
on the floor of the room, which in the daylight 
served as a schoolroom, it was long before he 
was able to close his eyes. And even then 
there were visions of his brother pursued by 
the Indians, or falling under the sudden blow 
of his treacherous foes. 

At last, however, Ich was asleep. It was 
not yet daylight when he was awakened by the 
touch of a hand upon his shoulder. Trained to 
the necessity of constant vigilance, Ich looked 
up in silence and in the dim light was able to 
discern the face and form of his older brother. 
“That you, Phin?” whispered Ich. 

“Yes,” came the low reply. “Get up and 
come with me and don’t make any noise.” 

Although he was eager to question his 
201 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


brother, Ich was silent as he obediently fol¬ 
lowed the directions which he had received. 
There were a dozen or more forms of men to be 
seen sleeping on the floor of the schoolroom and 
once it was necessary to step directly over one, 
but Ich was trained now by the long period of 
watchfulness the inmates of the Castle had 
been compelled to observe, and moved forward 
almost as silently as a shadow. 

"When they were outside the building, Phin 
stopped and turning to his brother said, 
“We’ve had word about Ben.” 

‘ ‘ What is it, Phin ?’ 9 asked Ich in a low tone 
of voice. 

“I’m afraid it’s bad news.” 

“But what is it?” again asked Ich quietly. 

“When he went otf with the trapper,” ex¬ 
plained Phin, “it seems that they got separated 
and a couple of Indians started after him in a 
canoe. Ben was in a canoe too, but of course 
he was no match for two redskins. They 
chased him and I’m afraid they got him.” 

“Don’t you know? Don’t you know whether 
he was taken or not?” demanded Ich sharply. 

“No. Abner has just come into the Castle 
and he came straight to me with the story that 
two redskins chased Ben down the river and 
afterward when Abner and Hiram started, they 
found the canoe in which Ben had gone but it 
202 


THE BROTHERS DEPART 


was all smashed to bits. It had drifted up on 
the shore.” 

Ich was silent for a minute before he said, 
“Of course, they are dead sure it was the 
canoe Ben had?” 

4 4 They say they are,’ ’ answered Phin. 4 4 But 
they can’t find hide nor hair of the redskins, 
any more than they can of Ben.” 

4 4 So they made up their minds that the In¬ 
dians must have taken Ben away with them. 
Is that it?” asked Ich. 

“That’s what they say, but I’m not so dead 
sure that they are right.” 

44 Neither am I,” said Ich quickly. 44 1 don’t 
believe Ben would wait for them to take him 
away with them. They may have shot him, 
but if they took him in his canoe, why didn’t 
they keep that as well as Ben? Canoes this 
time of the year are not so plentiful along 
the river that either our men or the redskins 
want to smash one up if it’s in good condition.” 

44 This one was all right,” said Phin. 

44 Then I don’t believe they’ve got Ben. 
There’s something strange and perhaps some¬ 
thing wrong, but I don’t believe that two red¬ 
skins took Ben if he was really trying to get 
away. Of course, they could paddle a good 
deal faster than he could, but Ben knows the 
way all along the shores on either side of the 
203 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


river and Pm telling you that he could find a 
place where not even the redskins could get 
him.” 

“I hope you’re right,” said Phin quickly. 

“Well, I hope so, too,” acknowledged Ich. 
“But what I’m saying to you is gospel truth. 
Ben wouldn’t be likely to wait for two men to 
come up with him. He knew they would get 
him if he kept on paddling because they were 
two to one. It may be that he has crawled 
into some tree or hid himself on some bank. 
You can trust your brother Ben. Don’t you 
think so?” Ich added, as Phin did not reply. 

6 ‘1 want to believe it so much that I may not 
be really a good judge. What I wanted to say 
to you was this: Do you want to go with me 
and see if we can find out anything about 
Ben?” 

“I do,” replied Ich, as he instantly turned 
and followed his brother who led the way to¬ 
ward the water gate. There was no time nor 
opportunity for any additional explanation 
until they arrived at the gate where Corporal 
O’Brien evidently was expectant. 

“Is it all right?” demanded the young 
Irishman. 

“All right,” answered Phin. “We’re go¬ 
ing to go down the river in our canoe and see 
if we can find any trace of Ben. Ich feels just 
204 


THE BROTHERS DEPART 


as I do that when Ben knew that he was being 
chased by two full-grown redskins he wouldn’t 
be likely to stick to his canoe. He would know 
the Indians would get him if he did. But he 
knows lots of places in which he could hide 
along on both sides of the river. Ich thinks, 
and I agree with him, that Ben probably made 
for one of these and may still be there. We 
want to find out anyway.” 

“Indade,” said O’Brien, ‘ 1 an’ it may be true 
and I hope it is. But did it iver occur to yez 
that the pesky redskins may know some of 
those hidin’ places you’re just spakin’ about?” 

“Yes,” answered Phin. “We have thought 
of all that, but the chances are that, after they 
lost sight of Ben, they probably didn’t try to 
follow him up, especially if he knew all these 
places and they didn’t know which one he had 
taken. They might not be able to trail him for 
Ben is a good one on hiding his tracks. At 
any rate, we think we’d better slip out and see 
if we can find him.” 

“Don’t forget,” said O’Brien, in a tone 
which he meant for a whisper, but which might 
have been heard on the opposite side of the 
Oastle, “that more’n thirty of our men left the 
Castle a spell ago and they’re on the lookout 
for everything and everybody that may be in 
trouble.” 


205 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“I haven’t forgotten it,” said Phin, “but I 
think they’re not going in our direction. 
We’re going to take a canoe and paddle down¬ 
stream. We know about where Ben took the 
canoe for Robert Stone has come back and he 
told us all about it. We think we ought to try 
it anyway.” 

“Well, good luck to yez,” said O’Brien qui¬ 
etly, as he withdrew the bar and permitted the 
two brothers to depart from the Castle. 

Each of the boys was armed with a rifle and 
was carrying a paddle for use in the canoe in 
which they were planning to depart. In si¬ 
lence they moved toward the shore, glancing 
keenly all about them as they proceeded, for 
the hour was approaching when, if the Indians 
should plan an attack, it would be likely to be 
made. They did not discover any signs of 
danger when at last they gained the shore and 
drew forth a light canoe from the place in 
which it had been hidden. Both boys were ex¬ 
perts in the use of the paddle and almost by 
instinct, certainly without any directions, each 
took his place, Phineas in the bow, and together 
they began to paddle out into the stream. 

The stillness of the night was almost oppres¬ 
sive. Not a sound broke in upon the silence. 
The light was dim, for there was no moon and 
the blackness of the shores seemed to be inten- 
206 


THE BROTHERS DEPART 


sified by the dim reflections in the water. Not 
a word was spoken by either and their bodies 
moved as if they were directed by the same 
hidden power. On the bottom of the canoe 
their two rifles were resting in a position which 
would enable each boy to seize his own weapon 
instantly. So well did Ich understand his 
brother, that even when Phin stopped occa¬ 
sionally to listen or to peer intently ahead of 
him, Ich followed the same course, although 
not a word was spoken. 

For an hour the labors of the boys continued 
without interruption and then Phin abruptly 
changed the direction in which they were mov¬ 
ing and the light little craft was sent swiftly 
toward the shore. 


CHAPTER XVI 


LITTLE EAGLE 

I T is time for us to return to the fortunes 
of Ben whom we left a prisoner of the 
Shawnees. A sensation of despair had 
swept over him when he found himself tied to 
the bent sapling, to which a cowbell had been 
attached. 

In the dim light as he looked about the camp, 
for the fire was still burning, he saw that his 
captors had not established a guard. Evi¬ 
dently they were confident that they were not 
likely to be attacked and equally assured that 
their young prisoner would not be able to 
escape. Even when Ben moved slightly the 
cowbell gave forth its warning sound. He 
glanced fearfully at the sleeping Indians but 
not one of them moved and the lad was more 
thoroughly convinced than before that they 
were certain that he would not be able to es¬ 
cape. A guard was not necessary. 

That his hands were tied tightly Ben well 
knew, for his suffering was extreme. The 
leather thongs cut into his flesh and the damp, 
208 


LITTLE EAGLE 


cold air increased his misery. Again he moved 
slightly and once more the bent saplings 
caused the cowbell to send forth its low warn¬ 
ing. The Indians, however, still did not move 
and apparently were not alarmed by the sound. 

In his desperation Ben stretched his arms, 
trying to obtain a little relief from his cramped 
position. Once more there was a faint tinkle 
of the bell and, although the young prisoner 
was alarmed, he was soon aware that the sound 
had failed to arouse his captors. Not one of 
the Indians moved from his position. All were 
asleep in a semicircle about the fire, which still 
continued to burn. 

An hour or more passed and the misery of 
the suffering lad was not relieved. Then, how¬ 
ever, rain began to fall. At first only a few 
drops fell upon Ben’s upturned face but soon 
the threatened downpour came. Cold and 
miserable, hungry and yet not entirely in de¬ 
spair, Ben resolutely endeavored to bear his 
hardships without complaining. 

His arms once more were aching because he 
had been unable to change his position. As he 
tried to pull them quietly he was aware that 
the thong by which his wrists were bound was 
giving a little. Startled by his discovery the 
desperate lad tried again and speedily was 
convinced that the leather, softened by the fall- 
209 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


ing rain, had become slightly more elastic than 
at the time when he had first been made a 
prisoner. 

A sudden ray of hope came with the convic¬ 
tion and resolutely he continued to pull upon 
the straps, hoping to free his right hand. It 
had been a matter of frequent comment among 
Ben’s boyish comrades that he was different 
from his fellows in that his wrists were 
slightly larger than his hands. Now, however, 
this fact brought a slight ray of hope, for when 
the Indians had bound him they had tied the 
straps securely about his wrists. 

Alternately pulling and resting, and all the 
time striving to be silent in his activity, Ben 
worked to free himself from his position. He 
was aware that his hands and wrists were 
bleeding, for the straps had cut into his skin 
and flesh. But there was no question now con¬ 
cerning the fact of his hand becoming freer. 
The leather had slipped down over his wrist 
and although his hand still was bound, every 
effort of the desperate lad pulled the hand a 
little farther through the strap. 

He was desperately trying to prevent the 
bell from sounding its warning, at the same 
time he was working to free himself. Twice 
the little bell sounded, but the alarm evidently 
did not disturb his sleeping captors. Once one 
210 


LITTLE EAGLE 


of the warriors arose from the ground and ap¬ 
proaching Ben convinced himself that the pris¬ 
oner was still safely held. 

Ben’s heart was beating rapidly, for at that 
time the strap was around his knuckles instead 
of around his wrists and he was convinced that 
in a brief time his right hand would be free. 
He waited until long after the Indian had re¬ 
sumed his sleeping position before he renewed 
his efforts. 

In a brief time, however, his hand was free. 
It was still necessary for him to hold down 
the bent sapling in order to prevent the ring¬ 
ing of the bell. He approached the little tree, 
glancing frequently behind him at the camp¬ 
fire and his enemies, and then, by thrusting his 
arm over the small trunk, he was able soon to 
free his left hand also from the strap by which 
it was bound. With the utmost care he slowly 
let the sapling regain its upright position and 
fortunately he did not sound the cowbell. 

He was free from his bindings but still 
was within the camp. For several minutes he 
stood gazing anxiously at the warriors and 
then as he perceived that their guns had been 
stacked about the base of a huge maple, he sud¬ 
denly decided to attempt to secure one of the 
weapons for his own use. 

Stealthily he withdrew and, by creeping 
211 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


slowly and cautiously, lie approached the tree. 
It was long before he dared thrust forth his 
hand and seize one of the rifles. The weapon 
would be useless unless he had also powder and 
balls. In the flickering light he saw that the 
powder horns and bullet pouches all had been 
deposited together near by and he abruptly 
turned and crept toward the spot. Fortu¬ 
nately he was able to obtain a horn, which he 
was convinced was filled with powder, and also 
a well-filled pouch of bullets. 

Then having gained that for which he had 
been striving he slowly and with extreme care 
turned toward the forest. Frequently he 
glanced behind him at the spot he was leaving 
and occasionally he walked backward in order 
to enable him to see more clearly what was 
taking place in the camp. 

When he had withdrawn a hundred feet, in 
his fear he again stopped and listened intently, 
but no sound broke in upon the steady beating 
of the rain. His excitement was keen and his 
fears were great. Nevertheless having suc¬ 
ceeded thus far he was determined to carry out 
his attempt to flee from the spot. 

Still he slowly withdrew until at last he 
found himself well within the adjacent forest. 
Then it was that he turned and ran at his ut¬ 
most speed. He was unaware of the direction 
212 


LITTLE EAGLE 


in which he was moving and unfamiliar with 
the woods through which he was passing. His 
supreme purpose now was to get away as rap¬ 
idly and as far as possible from the camp fire 
of his captors. He had no conception of the 
passing of time. He was aware, however, that 
his footprints on the muddy ground or in the 
dirty snow that still remained would be like the 
pages of an open book to his enemies when they 
should follow in pursuit. 

Occasionally the lad stopped when he was al¬ 
most convinced that he heard the sound of pur¬ 
suers moving among the trees. In every case, 
however, his fears had proved to be groundless. 
As yet he was not followed. His sole hope de¬ 
pended upon his swiftness and ability to place 
the greatest possible distance between him and 
the red men. If he should be overtaken, Ben 
was convinced that he knew what fate would 
befall him. At such moments he renewed his 
flight, moving swiftly but still retaining in his 
hand the rifle which he had taken. 

The powder flask and the bullet pouch were 
slung over his shoulders and as they occa¬ 
sionally caught in the bushes brought him to 
an abrupt halt. Every time he speedily freed 
himself and at once resumed his flight. 

When at last the dawn appeared he was con¬ 
fident that he had placed several miles between 
213 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


him and the camp from which he had fled. He 
still plunged forward, although he had no con¬ 
ception of the direction in which he ought to 
move. He was not entirely without experi¬ 
ence in woodcraft, but the confusion of the last 
few hours had deprived him of his sense of 
direction. 

As soon as the sun appeared he assured him¬ 
self that he would be able to make his way in 
the direction in which he must go in order to 
rejoin his friends. The thought of his friends 
reminded him at once of Ich and Phin. How 
troubled his brothers would be by his mysteri¬ 
ous absence! Doubtless they would attribute 
his disappearance to an attack by the Indians. 
In view of what recently had befallen several 
of the men who had been inmates of Farmers’ 
Castle, Ben was convinced that he fully ap¬ 
preciated the anxiety of his brothers. 

At such moments he increased his speed, fre¬ 
quently glancing fearfully behind him as he 
sped on through the forest. Still there had not 
been any signs of pursuit. It was strange, al¬ 
most mysterious, Ben assured himself, and yet 
the fact was not to be denied. 

The woods were becoming light now and he 
was able to see a considerable distance before 
him. By his determination he had already ac¬ 
complished more than he had dared to expect 
214 


LITTLE EAGLE 


and the very success which had attended his 
efforts now brought fresh courage to his boyish 
heart. 

He ran swiftly ahead and then a few mo¬ 
ments later stopped abruptly when he found 
himself standing on the border of what evi¬ 
dently was a little clearing. An acre or more 
was comparatively stripped of trees and a little 
house of logs that stood on the opposite side 
of the clearing evidently was occupied because 
smoke was slowly rising from the chimney. 

In order to mystify his pursuers if they 
followed his trail, as Ben confidently believed 
they would do, he reversed his position now in 
his sudden decision to approach the log house. 
In this manner also he was able to scan the 
borders of the adjacent forest and be on the 
lookout for the appearance of the red men. 

In a brief time he had drawn near the walla 
of the building and, raising himself to his feet, 
peered through the open window. Within the 
room he saw a white man and a young Indian 
boy, apparently of his own age. The sight was 
both appealing and alarming. The presence 
of the Indian implied that a white man would 
not be friendly and yet to go on was almost 
impossible. He was tired and hungry and 
thoroughly chilled, because his clothing was 
wet and heavy. 


215 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


As he glanced back into the forest once more, 
searching for signs of his enemies, he suddenly 
decided that it would be safer for him to trust 
the men before him than to try in any way to 
appeal to the red men who were doubtless 
upon his trail. 

‘ * Hello!” he called, in a low voice. Plainly 
his words were not heard, for neither the white 
man nor the Indian boy gave any heed. They 
were busy in their preparations for breakfast 
and the odor of the broiling bacon increased 
Ben’s eagerness. 

Again he called, “Hello! Hello!” in tones 
somewhat louder. This time his words pro¬ 
duced ail effect which for a moment almost 
caused Ben to flee into the adjacent forest and 
trust his safety to his own efforts rather than 
to his appeal for help. The white man uttered 
a low exclamation and literally leaped to the 
side of the cabin for the rifle which was stand¬ 
ing there. The Indian boy too was startled by 
the call and rushed to the place where his own 
weapons were standing. 

“Who ees it?” called the white man, as, with 
rifle at his shoulder, he gazed intently at the 
open window through which the sound had been 
heard. 

“It is me,” replied Ben quietly, if not 
grammatically. 


216 


LITTLE EAGLE 


“Who ees ‘me’?” 

“My name is Ben. Will you let me in?” 

“Where you come from?” 

“The Indians got me,” answered Ben. “I 
have just managed to get away from their 
camp. They may be after me at this very 
time.” 

“What Indians? Which is ze tribe?” 

“The Shawnees captured me,” answered 
Ben. 

“You shall come wiz me. You shall come 
queeck,” chattered the Frenchman in his ex¬ 
citement, as he swiftly drew the bolt of the 
sole door in the little building. Stepping 
quickly outside, the man, who now clearly re¬ 
vealed the fact that he was a Frenchman as 
well as a white man, turned to the place where 
Ben was waiting. Impulsively the Frenchman 
darted forward and seizing Ben by his aching 
wrist drew him swiftly within the cabin. 

“You shall see,” exclaimed the Frenchman, 
“We shall be some good friend. You shall be 
ze good friend to Leetle Eagle, too,” added the 
man quickly, as he turned and indicated the 
Indian boy. 

Ben, feeling utterly helpless and still some¬ 
what fearful of the meaning of his reception by 
his impulsive host, obeyed the summons and 
entered the room. The Frenchman quickly 
217 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


closed and barred the door behind him and then 
once more resumed his task before the fire that 
was blazing upon the hearth. 

“You shall soon see,” he exclaimed, chatter¬ 
ing like a schoolboy as he continued in his task 
of preparing breakfast. “You shall see ze 
bacon. It ees ver’ scarce. I find a leetle piece 
in what you call Gal—Gallipolees. ” 

“Did you come from there?” inquired Ben 
hastily. 

“Yeez, yeez. Oui. You have some friends 
there?” 

“I know some people there,” said Ben 
quickly. “They came down to Farmers’ 
Castle and played the fiddle for us two or three 
times this winter when we had dances.” 

“Yeez, yeez. I know Henri. He plays ze 
fiddle. I know Henri ver’, ver’ well. So you 
see we have ze same friends. You shall see, 
too,” continued the Frenchman, as he placed 
the still sizzling bacon upon the wooden plate 
on the rude little table in the center of the room. 

Ben in spite of his fear was more deeply in¬ 
terested at the moment in the occupation of his 
host than in his words. It had been long since 
he had tasted food and the odor of the bacon 
certainly was most tempting. In addition to 
the bacon the Frenchman had cooked cornmeal 
in a way new and strange to Ben, but the man- 
218 


LITTLE EAGLE 


ner of preparation had not detracted anything 
from the tempting sight it presented. 

“We shall help you,” continued the French¬ 
man. “You shall soon see. We shall send 
you to your friend.” 

‘‘ The Shawnees may not let you, ’ ’ suggested 
Ben, glancing through the open window in spite 
of his calm words. 

“Ze redskins shall not do you some harm. 
You wait. You shall see.” 

Ben glanced at the young Indian, but the 
boy’s stolid face did not betray any interest 
in the conversation. A moment later, how¬ 
ever, Little Eagle suddenly arose and, advanc¬ 
ing silently to the little window, for a moment 
peered intently at the surrounding forest; then 
he turned to the Frenchman and spoke two or 
three words in such a low tone of voice that 
Ben was unable to hear what he said. The ex¬ 
citement of the Frenchman, however, instantly 
increased. Turning to Ben he exclaimed, 
“You shall go up! You shall go up! I shall 
help you.” 

At once approaching the lad he indicated 
that he was to climb up into the loft by means 
of a rude ladder which the Frenchman in¬ 
stantly placed in position. Ben did not hesi¬ 
tate. He was aware now of the warning the 
young Indian had given of the approach of the 
219 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


warriors. The Frenchman apparently was 
friendly and, even if he were not so disposed, 
Ben was convinced that his safety was as 
promising in the cabin as it would be if he at¬ 
tempted to flee from the place. 

He was now tired from his long-continued 
efforts and his hunger was so keen that it 
seemed almost impossible for him to con¬ 
tinue his flight. Hesitating but a moment he 
hastily followed the directions of his host and 
ascended into the loft. He peered below him, 
watching the Frenchman as he quickly removed 
the ladder from its position and took it out¬ 
side the cabin. 

As soon as the man reentered he spoke to 
Ben bidding him lower the trapdoor to cover 
the entrance. Ben was only too willing to 
follow the directions, and yet there was space 
in the casing of the trapdoor sufficient to en¬ 
able him to see what was occurring in the room 
below him. He was also able to hear much 
that was said by the excited Frenchman and 
the Indian boy. 

The opportunity even for such conversation, 
however, was slight, for in a brief time Ben 
heard a heavy blow upon the outside door 
which he was convinced was made by the leader 
of his recent captors striking the strong 
framework with his tomahawk. 


CHAPTER XVII 
THE PLIGHT OF BEN 

T HE alarm of Ben increased when the 
sound of the pounding upon the heavy 
door became more imperative. There 
were also loud calls for the door to be opened. 
The frightened lad had no difficulty in recog¬ 
nizing the voices of Indians and he was fully 
convinced that his pursuers had traced him 
directly to the cabin in which he had been re¬ 
ceived. His fears naturally increased and he 
was trembling in his excitement. 

In a brief time, however, he heard the 
Frenchman call, “Ze door will be opened. Ze 
door will be opened.” 

There was still space between the trapdoor 
and the ceiling of the room to enable Ben to 
peer down into the room below him. He was 
lying prone upon the rough floor, his eyes 
peering through the small open space and he 
was able to see clearly the door as well as 
the Frenchman and Little Eagle. He watched 
the Frenchman when the latter finally lifted 
221 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 

the heavy bar from the door and flung it open. 
Instantly five Shawnees rushed into the room 
and Ben’s worst fears were confirmed. 

He recognized two of them as warriors who 
had assisted in making him a prisoner and he 
had no question in his mind that the others 
were also red men who had been in the camp 
in which he had been held a prisoner. The 
thought of his capture for a moment recalled 
the pain in his wrists, but the excitement of 
watching what was occurring below him was 
so keen that even the pain was quickly forgot¬ 
ten and he waited for events to declare them¬ 
selves. 

“What ees it you want?” demanded the 
Frenchman. 

To Ben’s surprise the anger of the Indians 
apparently disappeared at once. It was evi¬ 
dent that they were acquainted with the little 
Frenchman and also that they had confidence 
in his word. There was a low conversation 
between the leader of the red men and the 
Frenchman, of which Ben could hear but little. 
That it concerned himself, however, was evi¬ 
dent, and the eagerness of his recent captors 
was apparent in their gestures as they pointed 
in various directions evidently indicating the 
flight of their prisoner. They had had no dif¬ 
ficulty in following the trail of the lad, owing 
222 


THE PLIGHT OF BEN 

to the haste with which he had fled and the 
condition of the ground and what little was 
left of the winter’s snow. In fact Ben was 
convinced that they had followed him soon 
after his departure and evidently had made 
as good speed as he himself had been able to 
make in his terror. 

The conversation continued for several min¬ 
utes, but Ben was able to hear only a few of the 
words that were spoken. The friendliness 
of the Indians still was manifest and after a 
little while Ben’s hopes increased that the 
Frenchman would not betray him. Indeed his 
confidence in the little man had been strength¬ 
ened by the evident spirit of helpfulness he had 
manifested from the moment that Ben had en¬ 
tered the log cabin. Why he should have as¬ 
sisted him to a hiding place in the loft was not 
plain if he had intended to turn him over to 
his captors. 

However, Ben was in no mood to think sanely 
and his fears were still so keen that every word 
and movement of the men who almost filled the 
little room below him took on a tragic interest. 

In a brief time it was manifest that the 
Frenchman had convinced his visitors that the 
boy for whom they were searching must be 
looked for elsewhere. The Indians peered 
keenly into every part of the room and once, 
223 


PIONEEK SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


when they looked at the trapdoor, Ben’s heart 
gave a sudden throb in his fear lest they should 
carry their investigations further. There was 
no escape for him from the room in which he 
was hidden and only a slight investigation 
would reveal his presence to his enemies. That 
they would deal savagely with him if they once 
again had him in their power he had no doubt. 
He was familiar with the customs of the vari¬ 
ous tribes and was well aware that a prisoner 
who had escaped and had been retaken seldom 
received any mercy. 

In a brief time the Indians departed, not, 
however, before they had consumed the break¬ 
fast which the Frenchman had prepared. Evi¬ 
dently no protest had been made against their 
action and as soon as they had departed the 
Frenchman and the Indian boy resumed their 
task of broiling the bacon over the open fire. 
Ben expected that they would recall him as 
soon as their visitors had gone. As the mo¬ 
ments passed and apparently no thought was 
given to him, he ventured to call to the men 
below. Instantly the Frenchman looked up to 
the trapdoor and motioning with both his 
hands for Ben to withdraw from the place, 
said, i ‘It ees too soon. It ees too soon.” 

“Can’t I come down now?” called Ben in a 
low voice. 


224 


THE PLIGHT OF BEN 


“No! No!” said the Frenchman excitedly. 
“It ees too soon. It ees too much soon.” 

It was evident to Ben now that his friend, 
for as such he now looked upon his host, was 
fearful that their recent visitors might return 
to the cabin and if they should come unex¬ 
pectedly and find him with the other two, there 
would be no question as to what would follow. 

Striving to be content Ben stretched him¬ 
self on the floor and eagerly watched the occu¬ 
pation of the two below him who were again 
preparing breakfast. It had been long since 
he had tasted food and the odor which now 
arose from the broiling bacon intensified his 
hunger. For a moment it almost seemed to 
him that he would be willing to brave the pos¬ 
sibility of recapture if only he could eat some 
of the tempting food which was being prepared 
by his friends. 

However, he did not move from his position 
and, although his troubles increased when he 
watched the Indian lad as he devoured the 
tempting bacon, he did not speak until after 
more than a half hour had elapsed and the 
Frenchman called to him in a low voice. He 
now replaced the ladder and Ben quickly lifted 
the trapdoor and descended to the room below. 

“I have put Leetle Eagle as ze guard. He 
will let us know if ze Shawnees come. You 
225 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


shall then go up ze ladder and yon shall pull 
ze ladder up after you.” 

“Suppose they don’t come?” inquired Ben, 
who was peering about him for food. 

“If zey do not come, I help you some more,” 
said the Frenchman with a laugh. 

“I’m hungry now,” said Ben simply. 

“Ze hungry shall be fed,” replied the 
Frenchman, instantly busying himself again in 
the task of preparing food for his visitor. 

To Ben the time seemed to drag, though 
his host was moving quickly in his efforts to 
provide for the hungry lad. Ben frequently 
stepped to the open window and peered out 
into the adjacent forest, striving to discover 
whether or not his enemies were within sight. 
When he was summoned to his repast, even 
thoughts of his recent captors were abolished 
from his mind for a time and he gave himself 
with all zest to the food which the Frenchman 
now placed upon the rude wooden table which 
stood at one side of the room. 

Apparently the delight of the Frenchman 
was almost as keen in the vigor with which 
Ben attacked his breakfast as was that of the 
hungry boy himself. Frequently the man 
laughed aloud and several times he approached 
Ben and patted him softly on the shoulder as 
if he were approving his ability to dispose 
226 


THE PLIGHT OF BEN 

of the quantity of food which was before him. 

After he had satisfied his hunger he arose 
and turning to his host he said, “You have 
been my good friend. I thank you. I don’t 
know what I can do to pay you but some time 
the turn will be mine and I shall be glad to 
do you a favor.” 

“Zat ees so,” responded the delighted 
Frenchman. “Some day you shall do for me. 
Now I shall have you go back into ze loft and 
pull up ze ladder. ’’ 

“But I want to go on,” protested Ben 
quickly. “I can’t stay here. I want to get 
back to Farmers’ Castle.” 

“But you shall not go now,” said the little 
Frenchman glibly. “We shall wait. You 
shall see. Ze Shawnees may be all around 
ze cabin. Zey may be hiding behind ze tree 
You shall not go. When it ees later in ze day, 
ze Leetle Eagle shall go wiz you.” 

“Will he go with me?” demanded Ben 
quickly, as he glanced at the young Indian. 

“Oui! Oui! Leetle Eagle shall go wiz 
you. ’ ’ 

Ben said no more and the ladder was at once 
brought in and by it he ascended to the loft. 
The trapdoor once more was dropped after he 
had pulled the ladder into the loft with him. 
It was a tedious day, for the boy who was more 
227 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


closely confined now than he had been in cap¬ 
tivity. There were moments when he almost 
decided that he could no longer endure the soli¬ 
tude and silence. In every case, however, his 
better nature asserted itself and he did his 
utmost to be patient. 

At times he slept for he was more weary than 
he knew. Such naps, however, were brief and 
whenever he awoke Ben’s first impulse was to 
peer through the opening by the trapdoor in 
order to discover whether or not his foes had 
returned. 

Then the day at last departed and when 
the shadows of evening fell, the Frenchman 
summoned Ben from his hiding place. He was 
so stiff and sore from his recent experiences 
that he nearly fell when he attempted to de¬ 
scend the ladder. However, the sight of food 
on the table below him served as a sufficient in¬ 
centive and Ben soon was doing justice to the 
venison which the kind-hearted Frenchman had 
prepared for him. 

When he arose from the bench on which he 
had been sitting the dusk had deepened and 
the night was at hand. Preparations were at 
once made for his departure. The rifle which 
he had taken from the Indian had been oiled 
and looked after by his host. 

4 ‘Is it safe for me to go with Little Eagle?” 

228 


THE PLIGHT OF BEN 

whispered Ben to the Frenchman when the 
preparation was complete. 

“Oui y it ees safe. Leetle Eagle know ze 
way and he knows how to fool ze Indians.’’ 

Ben waited for no more and at once set forth 
with Little Eagle. His companion was silent 
as he led the way into the adjacent forest and 
Ben followed obediently. His eyes soon be¬ 
came accustomed to the dim light but after a 
brief time he found it difficult to maintain the 
trot at which Little Eagle was moving. His 
recent experiences had been more severe than 
he had realized at the time. However, he did 
not complain and resolutely followed his guide 
until at last the young Indian halted beside a 
spring. There each of the boys drank his fill 
and after a brief rest Little Eagle said, “ Time 
to go.” 

“How much farther is it?” inquired Ben. 

“White boy tired?” 

“Yes,” answered Ben promptly. “I have 
had a hard time since the Shawnees took me 
prisoner.’ ’ 

“Like squaw.” 

“No, I am not like a squaw!” retorted Ben 
sharply. “My hands are torn and my legs are 
sore but I’ll keep up with you if you don’t go 
any faster than you did before.” 

Little Eagle grunted but not wholly in dis- 
229 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


approval. Ben was aware that his companion 
probably had been trying to draw from the 
white boy an acknowledgment of his fatigue. 
Nothing pleased the Indians more than to show 
their superiority over the physical prowess of 
the white invaders. If Little Eagle felt any 
sympathy for the troubled lad he did not dis¬ 
play his feelings. His pace, however, was 
slower, although Ben was aware that he did 
not explain to him how much longer their jour¬ 
ney must continue before they were due to 
arrive at the house of the Frenchman to whom 
his recent host was sending him. Throughout 
the night the journey continued and it was 
nearly dawn when at last Little Eagle halted 
on what was plainly the border of a small 
clearing. 

It was plain, too, that the trees had been 
recently felled, for the stumps were fresh and 
the house on the border was not yet completed. 
Confidently Little Eagle led the way toward the 
log cabin, but when the boys arrived they dis¬ 
covered that it was unoccupied. This, how¬ 
ever, did not deter Little Eagle who at once 
entered and motioned for his companion to 
follow. 

Ben, now thoroughly wearied by his efforts 
in the darkness, was glad when he became 
aware that their journey was broken even if 
230 


THE PLIGHT OF BEN 


it had not come to its end. Here they rested 
for two hours at which time the beams of the 
rising sun were appearing in the east. 

“How much farther do we go?” inquired 
Ben as he prepared to follow his guide. 

Little Eagle did not reply to the question and 
as he led the way once more into the forest, 
Ben followed, although his muscles were pro¬ 
testing against the pain which his activities 
caused them to sutler. 

They had not advanced far, however, before 
Little Eagle stopped abruptly and placing his 
finger upon his lips in token of silence, mo¬ 
tioned for Ben to stop where he was while 
the Indian boy crept forward on his hands and 
knees. Ben was aware that his keen-eyed com¬ 
panion had discovered something that had 
alarmed him. He waited impatiently for Lit¬ 
tle Eagle to return and in a brief time the 
young Indian came back and approaching 
closely to Ben whispered, “Plenty Wyandottes. 
Heap Shawnees.” 

“Where?” whispered Ben. 

Little Eagle pointed into the forest as Ben 
inquired quickly, “How far away?” 

“Close by,” whispered Little Eagle. “One 
minute, two minute, three minute walk, and we 
get away without their finding us.” 

Little Eagle’s eyes flashed in the dim morn- 
231 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 

ing light and he said no more. He turned 
quickly and, although he had not been bidden to 
do so, Ben understood that he was to follow. 
The young Indian retraced his way several 
hundred feet, then, circling to his left, ad¬ 
vanced slowly and cautiously until at last he 
was convinced that they had passed the camp 
upon which he had stumbled. 

“How many Indians were there?” inquired 
Ben, when at last they halted. 

Little Eagle shook his head and held up the 
fingers of his right hand five times to indicate 
the numbers he had discovered in the camp. 
Ben said no more as he turned and followed 
the Indian who again had resumed his flight 
into the forest. They had not advanced far, 
however, before Little Eagle again announced 
that he had discovered the presence of an¬ 
other camp. Again they successfully circled 
the place without being discovered, but when 
a third camp was found at a distance of a quar¬ 
ter of a mile, Ben’s fears returned in full 
force. 

“What does this mean?” he whispered to 
Little Eagle. 

The young Indian’s eyes snapped as he whis¬ 
pered in reply, “They go to fight.” 

“Where? What place are they going to at¬ 
tack?” 


232 


THE PLIGHT OF BEN 

“The place you come from,” answered Little 
Eagle. 

“Farmers’ Castle?” exclaimed Ben in a low 
voice. 

The Indian nodded and did not speak. 

“Do you know whether there are many others 
who will join these redskins?” 

“Plenty warriors. Heap braves,” answered 
Little Eagle proudly. 

Ben was silent for a moment as he realized 
what the Indians were planning. Evidently 
the long-delayed attack upon Farmers’ Castle 
was about to be made. He had himself been 
near the gathering warriors and the words of 
his guide now confirmed his worst fears. All 
through the winter there had been rumors of 
an attack upon the little garrison. From time 
to time prowling Indians had been discovered 
near the stockade. The death of several of the 
inmates also had increased the alarm, espe¬ 
cially among the women and children who had 
fled to the Castle for shelter. 

Many of the men had boldly asserted that no 
attack would be made, because the Indians sel¬ 
dom attacked a fortified place, particularly one 
as well fortified as was Farmers’ Castle. Now, 
however, it was evident to the troubled boy 
that the Indians were preparing for a large 
and dangerous raid. How many there would 
233 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


be in the forces it was difficult for him to esti¬ 
mate. Already he had seen the camps of three 
of these bands, each of which consisted of not 
less than twenty-five braves. Doubtless there 
were many more waiting to join them. Ben’s 
fears increased greatly when he pictured to 
himself the great host which soon might be 
bearing down upon the inmates of Farmers’ 
Castle. 


CHAPTER XYin 

ASSEMBLING THE BRAVES 

W HEN Ich and his brother in their 
little canoe swept swiftly toward 
the shore, they did so because they 
had discovered the presence there of two men, 
both of whom they thought were white. So 
eager was Ich to learn of any reports concern¬ 
ing his missing brother that he was counting 
upon obtaining information from any of the 
pioneers whom they might meet on their way. 

His disappointment, however, was keen when 
he discovered that, although both men were 
whites, as he had thought, neither was known 
to him. The boys approached near the shore 
and in the conversation which followed they 
explained their purpose and eagerly inquired 
if they had heard any reports or rumors con¬ 
cerning the missing Ben. Neither of the men, 
however, had heard of any rumors of what had 
befallen the missing boy. Both were keenly 
aroused by reports they had received of the 
gathering of the Indians and of the plans 
235 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


which Little Turtle was reported to be form¬ 
ing for driving the whites from the coveted 
region. 

When the two men turned into the forest, 
Ich and Phineas at once resumed their labors 
and in a brief time had left far behind them 
the shore on which they had discovered the 
two men. For a time the brothers paddled in 
silence. Each was aware of the thoughts which 
filled the mind of the other and both were so 
eager that they did not relax their efforts. 
The little canoe sped swiftly forward, nor did 
a respite occur until once more they discovered 
two other men standing on the opposite bank: 
of the river. 

“Go slow, Phineas,’’ warned Ich. “You 
don’t know who they are.” 

“I don’t care,” replied Phineas quietly. 
“I’m going to hail every one we meet and find 
out if we can what has happened to Ben. 
Somebody must know and maybe we’ll strike 
the one who has been told or knows something 
about it.” 

“All right, go ahead,” responded Ich. “It 
won’t be long before we’ll find out whether 
these men have heard anything or not. I 
wanted to be sure, though, that they were white 
men before we got too near the shore.” 

When the boys drew near the spot where the 
236 


ASSEMBLING THE BRAVES 

white men, evidently interested in the coming 
of the canoe, waited for their approach, they 
saw that one of the men at one time had been 
a resident at Farmers’ Castle. 

“Mr. Sawyer!” called Phineas quickly. 
“Have you heard anything about my brother?” 

“Which one?” inquired Mr. Sawyer, as he 
recognized the boy before him. 

“Ben,” answered Phineas. “He has not re¬ 
ported at Farmers’ Castle for a good while. 
We are afraid something has happened to 
him.” 

“Where did he go?” 

“He went out with a party that was looking 
for some one of our men, and then, too, they 
were on the watch for signs of Indians.” 

“And Ben went?” 

“Yes. Have you heard anything about 
him?” 

“Not a word. Not a word,” said Mr. Saw¬ 
yer shaking his head. “And furthermore I 
think you won’t hear anything. The Shaw- 
nees probably got him. They get anybody that 
dares to venture a mile from his clearing. I 
never saw such varmints. You can’t head 
them off and you can’t dodge them—” 

“But you say you haven’t heard anything 
about Ben?” interrupted Ich impatiently. 

“That’s what I said. Nary a word, and I 
237 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


said I didn’t think you would hear anything 
more than I did.” 

“We’ll have to take our chances on that,” 
said Ich quickly, as he and his brother resumed 
their paddling and speedily sent the little canoe 
beyond the sight of the men. 

Once more the brothers toiled steadily at 
their task and swept swiftly over the surface 
of the river. The early morning light now 
clearly revealed the objects along the shore and 
both boys were keenly watching for the appear¬ 
ance of friend or foe. For a half-hour more 
they continued on their way but not another 
sight was obtained of any human being in the 
entire region. 

At last, however, when they approached the 
bend in the stream, once more they saw stand¬ 
ing on the shore two men who plainly were 
aware of their approach and were waiting for 
their coming. 

“The men to-day all seem to be in pairs,” 
said Ich in a low voice. 

“So it seems,” answered Phineas. “I don’t 
care how many there are if we can only find 
some one who can tell us what has happened 
to Ben. It’s a shame those men let him go as 
they did.” 

“According to the report,” answered Ich, 
‘‘ there wasn’t much else for him to do. He had 
238 


ASSEMBLING THE BRAVES 


to vamoose and not stand on any order or wait 
for any one to tell him just what to do.” 

“That may be so,” said Phineas quietly, 
“but I’m mighty interested in these men up on 
the shore. Do you know, I’m hoping that we 
shall hear something from them that will give 
us what we want.” 

“I don’t know why we should,” persisted 
Ich. 

At the same time the younger brother was 
as keenly alert as Phineas and, as the little 
canoe sped swiftly toward the shore, Ich was 
becoming more excited as the men were more 
plainly seen. The lad was inclined to think at 
first that the strangers were Indians, inasmuch 
as their garb was that of the hunters and spies 
who dressed much as the red men did. Deer¬ 
skin shirts and trousers and coonskin caps at 
one time were almost as popular in southern 
Ohio as they were in the regions farther south, 
and both of the men who were watching the ap¬ 
proach of the canoe were dressed after this 
fashion. 

When at last the boys abruptly stopped the 
canoe about fifty feet from the shore, they were 
aware that the men before them were both 
white and apparently were as eager to hail 
them as the boys had been to find the white 


men. 


239 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


“What’s new?” called one of the men. 

“Not very much,” answered Phineas. 

“Have you heard that the Indians are get¬ 
ting together for an attack on Farmers’ 
Castle?” 

“That’s the report.” 

“Have you heard anything this morning?” 

“No. We left the Castle in the night. 
We’re looking for our brother, Ben. He went 
out with a party that was sent to look after 
some men that were working on their places 
and had been reported as either killed or cap¬ 
tured by the redskins. Some of them came 
back to Farmers’ Castle and told us that Ben, 
that’s our brother, was last seen trying to get 
away from a couple of Indians who were chas¬ 
ing him in a canoe.” 

The man laughed as he shook his head and 
said, “You aren’t fools enough to think he got 
away, are you?” 

“We don’t now what to think,” answered 
Phineas. “We know that Ben knows the coun¬ 
try around here and he may have found a hid¬ 
ing place. If he did, it’s just possible that he’s 
there now and needs some help from home.” 

“He’ll need the help all right,” laughed the 
man. “No, sir, you’ll never hear any more 
about him.” 

“If we don’t, it won’t be because we haven’t 
240 


ASSEMBLING THE BRAVES 


tried,’’ retorted Phineas, angered at the levity 
of the man who could speak so lightly of the 
fate which might have befallen his missing 
brother. 

Abruptly the boys resumed their task and the 
light canoe soon passed beyond the sight of the 
men whom they had seen on the shore. An¬ 
other half hour elapsed and still there was no 
rest for the paddlers. There was no special 
reason why the early part of the day should be 
safer for them to travel in than the later hours, 
but the boys, as though moved by one purpose, 
were eager to cover the greatest possible dis¬ 
tance in the early morning and thus be able to 
return more leisurely later in the day with an 
abundance of sunlight throughout their voyage 
back to Farmers’ Castle. 

The sun was now shining brightly and the 
day promised to be unusually warm. 

44 There won’t be much snow left in a day or 
two if this sun keeps up,” suggested Ich, as 
he wiped the perspiration from his brow. 
44 Whew, it’s warm!” 

44 Yes,” answered Phineas, 44 the sun is warm 
but the air is still—” 

Phineas stopped abruptly as he glanced 
toward the bank and Ich quickly followed his 
example. In a moment their excitement was 
keen when they discovered a canoe approach- 
241 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


ing from the shore. In the little craft were two 
paddlers and it was evident from their activ¬ 
ities that they were either trying to escape 
from unseen enemies on the shore or that they 
wanted to intercept Phineas and Ich before 
they passed farther up the stream. 

As the canoe drew nearer, the attention and 
interest of Phineas and Ich was suddenly with¬ 
drawn from the approaching strangers. At 
that moment shots were fired from the shore 
and there were loud shouts which revealed the 
presence of Indians among the trees. The 
canoe in which the two brothers were paddling 
was struck in two places by the bullets of the 
enemy. 

“Are you hit?” inquired Phineas anxiously 
as he glanced at his brother. 

“No,” answered Ich. “Are you?” 

“No, but our canoe is, and it’s in bad shape. 
It’s going to fill before we can make the shore.” 

In response to the order of Phineas, Ich bent 
low and together the two boys exerted them¬ 
selves as they had not done since they had left 
Farmers ’ Castle. 

“Paddle hard!” called Phineas in a low 
voice. “Do your best. I’m afraid we shan’t 
make it after all.” 

Meanwhile water was pouring in through the 
holes which had been made by the bullets. Al- 
242 


ASSEMBLING THE BRAVES 


ready the canoe was becoming unmanageable 
and was settling low in the water. 

“Keep your rifle dry, if you can,” warned 
Phineas, who was keenly watching the shore 
for signs of the reappearance of their enemies. 

The boys had placed their rifles athwart the 
gunwale and as yet the water had not touched 
them. 

“We may have to swim,” warned Phineas, 
as the canoe lurched and then settled more 
deeply into the river. “If we do, make for the 
island. If you can keep your rifle out of the 
water, do it. We may need it before long.” 

Ich glanced at the shore which now was not 
far away and was aware that they were ap¬ 
proaching a long island. He had never before 
landed there and consequently was unfamiliar 
with the details of the locality, but any place 
now that promised to provide a hiding place 
would be a refuge not to be despised. Mean¬ 
while both boys were exerting themselves to 
the utmost and the canoe was making progress 
although its speed steadily decreased. The 
bottom of the little craft was now covered with 
the inrushing water and it was a question how 
long the boys could hold the canoe upright. 

The Indians had not reappeared upon the 
main shore but the silence was by no means evi¬ 
dence that they had disappeared. The canoe 
243 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


was within ten feet of the shore when it sud¬ 
denly lurched and, in spite of the efforts of 
the two hoys, overturned. As they leaped into 
the water they discovered that it came only 
to their thighs. As a consequence they were 
able, by holding their guns above their heads, 
to prevent them from becoming wet and their 
powder which they carried in the horns slung 
over their shoulders was also untouched. 

Hastily the two brothers scrambled ashore 
and as soon as they gained a foothold they 
both turned to look toward the bank where 
their enemies had appeared. Not one was to 
be seen. 

“What’s become of that canoe we saw?” in¬ 
quired Ich in a low voice. 

Phineas did not reply as he looked intently 
up and down the stream. Not a trace of the 
canoe, however, was discovered and, as the 
boys withdrew among the trees that covered 
the island, Phineas said, “I wonder who those 
fellows were!” 

“Look yonder!” interrupted Ich quickly, as 
turning he pointed to the shore where the shots 
had been fired. 

At least a score of Indians were to be seen 
running swiftly along the bank and apparently 
they were indifferent whether or not their pres¬ 
ence was known. In a brief time, however, 
244 


ASSEMBLING THE BRAVES 

the Indians disappeared within the woods and, 
although the boys remained watching ten min¬ 
utes or more, they did not see them again. 

U I am cold, 9 ’ suggested Ich. “I have been 
in the river but never when it was colder than 
it is now.” 

* ‘March isn’t the best month for swimming,” 
said Phineas dryly. “Perhaps we’ll get warm 
pretty soon.” 

“I don’t see any prospects of our having a 
fire. We’ve lost our canoe and I don’t know 
how we’re going to get away, but we’ll have 
to find a way or make one.” 

“I’ve been here before and unless I’m mis¬ 
taken there’s a little shanty about a hundred 
feet back among the trees. Let’s see if we can 
find it.” 

“Some one ought to wait and keep watch of 
the shores. If the redskins have any canoes 
they may come over here. They certainly 
must have seen us.” 

“They did see us,” interrupted Phineas. 
“Those bullet holes in the canoe show that they 
knew what they were doing. There’s the 
shanty,” he added, as he pointed to a small 
log hut directly in front of them. 

The boys at once hastened to the place which 
they had no difficulty in entering. The walls 
were damp and chilly, however, and, although 
245 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


they searched for flint and tinder, they were 
unable to discover any means by which they 
might kindle a fire. 

“We’d better have some one on guard all the 
time, hadn’t we?” inquired Ich. 

“Yes, you go down to the shore,” replied his 
brother. “Keep out of sight but let me know 
if you see any signs of any one coming over 
here. I’ll look around here and see what can 
be done.” 

Ich obediently followed the directions of his 
brother and returning to the shore took a 
stand behind a large maple tree. From his 
position he was able to see far up and down the 
banks and was keenly watching for indications 
of the plans of the Indians who had fired upon 
them. An hour slowly passed and the vigil 
was becoming irksome to the active lad. The 
monotony of the scene was beginning to pall. 

The river was high between the banks and the 
current was swifter than Ich had ever known 
it to be. As the shore he was watching ap¬ 
parently was no longer occupied by Indians, 
-consequently there was no sign of life to be 
seen as far as he could look. 

A few minutes later, however, Ich was 
startled when he beheld a canoe within a few 
feet of the shore of the island and coming 
down the stream. For a moment it seemed 
246 


ASSEMBLING THE BRAVES 


to the startled boy that the Indians must have 
crossed farther up the river and silently and 
stealthily crept down the stream until they ar¬ 
rived at their present position without alarm¬ 
ing any one on the island. A second look, 
however, enabled Ich to perceive that one at 
least of the occupants of the canoe was white 
and a moment later in great excitement he 
rushed down to the bank and shouted, “Ben! 
Ben! Come ashore!” 

The two occupants of the canoe, one of whom 
Ich was convinced was a young Indian, in¬ 
stantly backed water and glanced hastily at the 
spot from which the unexpected hail had arisen. 

“Is that you, Ich?” finally called Ben from 
the canoe. 

“Yes, yes. Come ashore!” 

The course of the little craft was instantly 
changed and a moment later Ben and Little 
Eagle stepped on shore. The surprise of each 
boy was keen, and for a moment they stared 
at each other as if each was doubtful of the 
other’s reality. 

“Where did you come from! How did you 
get here? Who is this young Indian with 
you?” demanded Ich. 

“Tell me first,” said Ben more quietly, “are 
you alone?” 

“No, Phineas is here, too. We came out to 
247 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


find if we could hear anything about you. We 
got as far as this when some Indians fired on 
us from the shore. They hit our canoe twice 
and it began to fill so we had to leave it and 
come ashore. Where did you get your canoe? 
I don’t understand,” added Ich as he gazed in 
confusion at his brother. 

“It’s a long story, Ich,” said Ben. “If it 
hadn’t been for Little Eagle here I never should 
have got away. I’ll tell you all about it a 
little later. Just now what I want is something 
to eat. Have you got anything?” 

“Not a thing. Come on back to the shanty 
where Phineas is and we’ll talk it over.” 

Ben and Little Eagle first drew their canoe 
up on the bank of the stream and concealed 
it behind the giant trees. Then they followed 
Ich who led them directly to the hut in which 
Phineas was to be found. 

The greeting between the brothers was warm 
and Ben was compelled to relate briefly the 
story of his escape from his captors and the 
help which the two Frenchmen had given him; 
and then, most of all, he praised Little Eagle 
who had conducted him safely through the 
forests. 

“But how is everything at the Castle?” de¬ 
manded Ben. “Is father all right? What’s 
the news?” 


248 


ASSEMBLING THE BRAVES 


“It isn’t very good,” said Phineas. “There 
are lots of reports that the Indians are get¬ 
ting together to attack the Castle.” 

“The reports are true,” said Ben seriously. 
“We have passed a half dozen bands of Shaw- 
nees or Wyandottes and if it hadn’t been for 
Little Eagle I know they would have got me 
again. It’s plain that they are trying to get 
enough men together to make an attack on 
Farmers’ Castle. We ought to get word there 
right away.” 

“We will,” said Phineas, “though I don’t 
think they need to know very much more than 
they do now to understand what they have 
got to face. It may be that we shall be kept 
here on the island so that we can’t get away 
to carry the word we want to.” 

“We’ll get away all right,” said Ben con¬ 
fidently. “You’ve lost your canoe but we’ve 
got one. Little Eagle will make two or three 
trips to-night and carry us over to the main 
shore and then we can start for home.” 

Throughout the day the boys waited and 
watched for signs of the coming of their ene¬ 
mies but they were not molested. They were 
tired from their efforts and hungry but no food 
was to be had. They accepted the conditions 
philosophically, however, as most of the pio¬ 
neers were compelled to do. 

249 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


At last, when night fell, Little Eagle carried 
out the suggestion of Ben and by making two 
trips brought the three brothers safely to the 
main shore. There he bade them good-by, ex¬ 
plaining that he must return to his own people. 

It was not until long afterward that Ben 
learned the reason for the good will which 
Little Eagle had shown him and when he heard 
the tale he was more deeply impressed than 
before by the gratitude manifested by the In¬ 
dian boy for the kindness which had been 
shown him by Phineas, when, one day, weeks 
before, he had rescued him when the Indian 
lad had fallen into a ravine and had badly 
sprained his left knee. The incident had al¬ 
most passed from the recollection of Phineas 
and now when it was recalled he understood 
more clearly this trait of Indian character. 

When at last near early morning the three 
brothers safely entered Farmers’ Castle, the 
report which they brought of the plans of the 
prowling red men did not provide any real 
news for the inmates. Already they were 
greatly alarmed by the reports of the intended 
attack and were doing their utmost to 
strengthen their defense. 

For several days their fears continued and 
Farmers’ Castle was in a state bordering on 
panic. However, the threatened attack passed 
250 


ASSEMBLING THE BRAVES 


when at last the inmates were convinced that 
the Indians had withdrawn abruptly from the 
immediate region. The cause of this sudden 
departure of the warriors was not understood 
until the events recorded in the chapter fol¬ 
lowing were know T n to the pioneers. 

The braves had assembled at the call of the 
chiefs and were soon prepared for the open 
warfare to be waged against the whites. Our 
boys had their full share in the contests—but 
their experiences there are not a part of 
this story. The defeat of General St. Clair’s 
army, the disaster that befell General Har- 
mar’s troops, and the final triumph of Mad An¬ 
thony Wayne are related in another story. 
The more immediate events, however, are re¬ 
corded in the historical chapter that follows. 


CHAPTER XIX 


CONCLUSION 

[The conditions in Ohio during the times with which 
this story has to do are made so clear in one of the earlier 
histories of the state, written by Caleb Atwater and pub¬ 
lished in 1838, that the author has made the following 
quotation from that work.] 

U NDER the authority of the act of Con¬ 
gress of 1791, Arthur St. Clair, Gov¬ 
ernor of the North West Territory, 
had been appointed Major General and Com¬ 
mander in Chief. He was empowered to treat 
with the Indian tribes; to be in fact a military, 
as well as civil, Governor of the Territory. 
President Washington did his duty faithfully; 
he appointed all the officers for the campaign, 
but the nation was poor and weak, especially 
in the west. Every exertion was made to raise 
an army and provide provisions and arms for 
it, and to concentrate it as early as possible 
in the season, but it was September before it 
was ready to march; nor was it even then com¬ 
pleted in any respect as it deserved to be. It 
assembled at Fort Washington. On the 17th 
252 


CONCLUSION 


day of September, 1791, the army left Fort 
Washington, and cut a road through the wilder¬ 
ness, to where Hamilton now stands. Here 
a fort was erected, and called Fort Hamilton. 
It was on the east bank of the Great Miami 
River, about twenty miles within the present 
limits of this state. Having completed this fort 
and garrisoned it, St. Clair marched some 
twenty miles northward and erected Fort St. 
Clair, and, marching twenty miles or more 
farther, due north, he established another mili¬ 
tary post, and called it Fort Jefferson. 

It is some six miles south of the present town 
of Greenville in Darke County. Having gar¬ 
risoned this post, on the 24th day of October, 
1791, St. Clair’s force was reduced to less than 
two thousand men with whom he marched in 
the direction of the Indian villages of the 
Maumee, which Indian towns it was his ob¬ 
ject to destroy. This march was slow, over 
a wet country, covered with a dense forest, 
which had to be cleared for his baggage wagons 
and artillery trains. The Indians began to 
hover about his army, and skirmishes became 
more and more frequent. To increase his 
difficulties, desertions took place daily, and, 
finally, sixty men deserted in a body, and 
started on their way to Cincinnati. St. Clair 
despatched Major Hamtramck with a suffi- 
253 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


cient force to bring back those deserters and 
protect the provisions which were behind the 
army moving forward slowly. By this time, 
the main army was only fourteen hundred 
strong and moved forward to where, after¬ 
wards, Fort Recovery was erected, within the 
limits of Mercer County, or on the line, be¬ 
tween it and Darke County. 

Here, on the head waters of the Wabash 
River, among a number of small creeks, thirty 
feet in width, on the third day of November, 
1791, Governor St. Clair, who was sick at the 
time, encamped with the remaining troops. 
The right wing of the army, under the com¬ 
mand of General Butler, lay in front of a creek, 
twelve yards wide, and this force formed the 
first line. The second line, seventy yards be¬ 
hind the first, was commanded by Lieutenant 
Colonel William Darke. There were two rows 
of fires between these lines, and there was snow 
on the ground. The right flank was supposed 
to be protected by a small creek, with high 
steep banks, and a small body of troops. The 
left flank was covered by a body of cavalry and 
by piquets. The militia crossed the creek and 
advanced about eighty rods in front of the main 
army, and encamped in two lines, and they 
had two rows of logs on fire. When the mili¬ 
tia crossed the creek in front of the regulars 
254 


CONCLUSION 


a few Indians appeared, but they precipitately 
fled on the approach of the militia. At this 
place, St. Clair intended to have thrown up a 
breastwork, as soon as Hamtramck returned, 
with the baggage, while the main body of the 
army pressed forward to the Indian towns on 
the Maumee, leaving the baggage here, under 
Hamtramck ’s care. This he said, afterwards, 
was then his intention. About half an hour 
after daylight, immediately after the militia 
were dismissed from parade and roll call, they 
were attacked by the enemy, with the utmost 
fury. The militia fled, in an instant, and came 
running into the regulars’ camp, and spread 
terror and confusion where they ran. These 
flying militia rushed quite through Butler’s 
line and were hardly stopped by the second line 
of regulars. The officers exerted themselves 
to the utmost to restore order which, though, 
was not entirely done. The Indians pressed 
close upon the very heels of the flying militia 
and instantly engaged Butler’s command with 
great intrepidity and fury. The action forth¬ 
with became warm, and the enemy, passing 
round the first line within fifteen minutes after 
the first attack, the whole army was surrounded 
by the Indians. The artillery was posted in 
the center of each wing which the enemy at¬ 
tacked with the greatest violence, mowing down 
255 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


the artillerists in great numbers. The enemy 
tired from the ground and from every tree 
around, and were seen only when flying from 
covert to covert. At length the enemy boldly 
marched up to the very mouths of the cannon, 
and fought with the daring courage of men 
whose trade is war, and who are impelled to 
vigorous actions by all the motives which 
operate on the savage mind. It was soon per¬ 
ceived that, while our soldiers were falling 
every moment before the bullets of the enemy, 
yet, hidden as that enemy was, little impression 
was made on the Indians. It was then resolved 
that Lieutenant Colonel Darke should charge 
the enemy with the bayonet, at the head of the 
second line, which he commanded. This charge 
was made by nearly all that line with the ut¬ 
most fury, and with so much effect that the 
Indians were driven about thirty rods; but no 
sooner had Darke returned to his position 
than the Indians were there also; this was 
owing to a want of riflemen to press the advan¬ 
tage which Darke had obtained by driving off 
the enemy. 

Instantly after this charge, General Butler 
was mortally wounded, the right wing was 
broken, the artillerists were nearly all killed, 
the guns were taken by the enemy, and the 
camp was everywhere penetrated by the fero- 
256 


CONCLUSION 


cious warriors. Major Butler, though his leg 
was broken by a ball, mounted his horse, and 
bravely led his battalion to the charge. Majors 
Darke and Clarke also led theirs to the charge. 
They charged the enemy with the bayonet, 
drove the Indians out of the camp, and restored 
the guns. But while the Indians were pressed 
with the bayonet at one point, they kept up 
their continual fire from every other point, 
with fatal effect. EVery charge when made 
drove the enemy back at the point where it was 
made, but no general effect was produced on 
the enemy. Instead of keeping their ranks 
and fighting, the troops huddled together in 
crowds, about the fires, and were shot down, 
without resistance. The officers did their duty 
bravely, and were shot down in great numbers 
by the enemy who took a sure and fatal aim at 
them. The Indians always shoot at the officers. 

All this time, St. Clair was so worn down 
by fatigue and disease, gout and rheumatism, 
that he was not able to mount or dismount his 
horse, without assistance. 

All that now remained to be done was to 
bring off the remains of the army. General 
St. Clair ordered Lieutenant Colonel William 
Darke, with the second regiment, to clear away 
the enemy from the path in which the army had 
marched to the spot where they were fighting, 
257 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


and he ordered Major Clarke to cover the rear 
of the army. These orders were obeyed, and 
a most disorderly flight commenced and con¬ 
tinued for about four miles. It was ten o’clock 
in the forenoon. All this time, the carnage was 
dreadful. Our soldiers finally threw away 
their arms, and fled for their lives. 

Many were killed in the fight, tomahawked 
and scalped; many were captured and after¬ 
wards roasted alive, at the stake. The elder 
Caray Maunee, of the Winnebagoes, was 
there, and informed us of all the particulars, 
when we were at Prairie du Chien, in July, 
1829. 

After glutting their savage vengeance by 
killing many of our men; and, having taken as 
many prisoners as they could well manage, the 
Indians left off their pursuit, and returned to 
the battle ground. There lay the dying and 
the dead; there stood the artillery and trains; 
and there also stood the baggage wagons. 
Here the enemy now glutted his vengeance to 
the very utmost, on the dying, the dead, and the 
living. But we leave the horrid picture for 
some other to fill up. 

The troops that remained of the fourteen 
hundred men of the morning, at early dawn, 
fled to Fort Jefferson, a distance of thirty 
miles or more. 


258 


CONCLUSION 


In this most unfortunate battle, we lost 
thirty-eight commissioned officers, who were 
killed on the battle ground. Six hundred non¬ 
commissioned officers and private soldiers were 
either killed or missing. Twenty-one commis¬ 
sioned officers were wounded, not a few of 
whom died of their wounds. Two hundred and 
forty-two noncommissioned officers and pri¬ 
vates were wounded, many of whom also died of 
their wounds. Among the dead were General 
Butler and Major Ferguson, two brave officers, 
who had served with great distinction, through 
the whole of the Revolutionary war. General 
Butler’s death was justly and severely la¬ 
mented by the whole nation as an irreparable 
loss. In the list of those who shared his fate 
were many who had participated largely, in the 
toils, dangers and glory of the war of the Revo¬ 
lution. They fell nobly doing their duty to 
their country; they rest in honor, and deserve 
our gratitude. 

At the head of a list of the wounded, stood 
the names of Lieutenant Colonels Thomas Gib¬ 
son and William Darke, Major Butler and Ad¬ 
jutant General Sargent, all of whom were 
veteran officers, of great merit, and who had 
behaved with distinguished gallantry in this 
disastrous battle. General St. Clair thought 
that he had been overwhelmed by numbers, be- 
259 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


cause he was attacked, on all sides, by the en¬ 
emy, though, from all the sources of informa¬ 
tion in our power, we presume the numbers of 
the two armies were about equal. The Indian 
loss, it is presumed, was small compared to 
ours. 

We close our account of this disastrous de¬ 
feat by saying that the first line of the second 
regiment, as encamped, was commanded by 
General Richard Butler, Patterson and Clarke. 
The second line was commanded by Gaither, 
Bedinger and Darke. Of the first line, all the 
officers were either killed or wounded, except 
three, and of the artillerists, all were killed ex¬ 
cept four privates! 

Of the regulars, the following officers were 
killed: General Richard Butler, Ferguson, 
Bradford, Spear, Ford, Morgan, Bines, Butts, 
Hart, Kirkwood, McCrea, Thompson, Phelon, 
Warren, Balsh, Newman, Kelso, McMickle, 
Purdy, Anderson, Lukens, Burgess, Crawford, 
Moorehead, Cribbs, Smith, Piatt, Van Swar- 
ingen, Tipton, McMath, Reeves, Doyle, Brooks, 
Greyton, Cummings, Beatty, and Doctors 
Chase and Beatty. 

Wounded officers of the regulars were as fol¬ 
lows : Lieutenant Colonel George Gibson, 
Major Thomas Butler, Captain Price, Colonel 
Sargent, Captain Darke, Buchanan, Lysle, 
260 


CONCLUSION 


Boyd, Trueman, Malartie, Cobb, Wilson, En¬ 
sign Purdy, Lieutenant Colonel Darke, and 
others. 

The militia killed were Oldham, Lemon, 
Briggs and Montgomery; wounded, Captain 
Thomas, Captain Madison, Lieutenant Stagner, 
Lieutenant Owens, Lieutenant Walters and 
Lieutenant Gano. 

The fugitives arrived at Fort Jefferson 
about sunset, and continued their march that 
night at ten o’clock. The ground was covered 
with snow two or three inches deep. They 
marched to Fort Washington, by way of Fort 
Hamilton. Before the troops began their 
march, a large number of the sentinels of 
Fort Jefferson deserted and fled,—such was 
their terror at what they had heard of this 
dreadful disaster. The march was a very 
disorderly one from Fort Jefferson to Fort 
Washington. 

There were in the army, at the commence¬ 
ment of the action, about two hundred and 
fifty women, of whom fifty-six were killed in 
the battle, and the remainder were made 
prisoners by the enemy, except a small number 
who reached Fort Washington. One of the 
survivors lived until recently in Cincinnati—a 
Mrs. Catharine Miller. This woman ran 
ahead of the whole army in their flight from 
261 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 


the field of battle. Her large quantity of long 
red hair floated in the breeze, and the soldiers 
followed her through the woods, as their fore¬ 
runner who moved rapidly onward to the place 
of their ultimate destination. 

On reaching Fort Jefferson, General St. 
Clair met Hamtramck, with the first regiment, 
whom we have mentioned as having been or¬ 
dered to bring back the deserters and protect 
the provisions and heavy baggage wagons 
which had been left slowly making their way 
along in the rear of the army. 

A council of war decided that they would 
not return to the battle ground, so, leaving the 
wounded in Fort Jefferson, St. Clair, with a 
mere remnant of his army, returned to Fort 
Washington. 

While Congress was in session at Philadel¬ 
phia, early in December, President Washington 
received the official account of this most ca¬ 
lamitous battle of the 4th of November, which 
information was forthwith communicated by 
him to the national legislature. Nothing could 
have been more unexpected than this disaster. 
The public mind was exasperated to a high de¬ 
gree against St. Clair, but, for want of officers 
of a rank high enough to try him, no court 
martial could be or was called upon his con¬ 
duct. Late in the session of 1792, Congress 
262 


CONCLUSION 


appointed a committee to inquire into it, but 
that civil committee acquitted him. 

The Indian war now assumed a serious 
aspect, and the reputation of the nation re¬ 
quired to be retrieved from the disgrace it had 
sustained. The whole western frontier lay ex¬ 
posed to fresh inroads of the enemy, now 
flushed with so dreadful a victory. 

General Washington wished to have Con¬ 
gress give him authority to raise three addi¬ 
tional regiments of foot, and a squadron of 
horse, for three years, unless peace should be 
sooner made with the Indians. A bill contain¬ 
ing these provisions was introduced into the 
House of Representatives, but it met with great 
opposition there. It was objected that the 
nation had not the money to carry on the war 
on such a scale; that while the British held 
the western posts, we were not able to protect 
so large a frontier; that, by withdrawing from 
the North West Territory and making the 
Ohio River the boundary, and, by treating with 
the Indians, a peace might be restored to this 
frontier. 

Such were some of the reasons assigned by 
the opposition to General Washington, in Con¬ 
gress. They strove with all their might to de¬ 
feat the bill, for the defense of the North West 
Territory. 


263 


PIONEER SCOUTS OF THE OHIO 

Those who supported the measure urged the 
necessity of self-defense and self-preservation; 
they presented to Congress a picture of the 
bleeding frontier—and they proved that not 
less than fifteen hundred Kentuckians, men, 
women and children, who were peaceably pur¬ 
suing their avocations, had been either slain 
or carried into captivity by the enemy, within 
the last seven years; and it was not doubted 
that the frontier settlements of Pennsylvania 
and Virginia had suffered quite as much within 
the same period of time. The measures of 
General Washington, they said, had always 
been conciliatory towards the savages. It was 
shown that Harmar offered to treat with the 
savages in the villages of the Maumee River, 
but the Indians at first refused to treat and 
then asked for thirty days to consider the sub¬ 
ject, which was granted. This was in the sum¬ 
mer of 1790 and, at the end of the thirty days, 
the savages refused to give any answer to the 
proposals to treat. In that same thirty days, 
however, while Harmar forbore all hostilities 
by the express orders of General Washington 
to that effect, the Indians had either killed or 
captured one hundred and twenty persons on 
our frontiers. Many of the prisoners had been 
roasted alive by a slow fire. 

264 


CONCLUSION 


The bill was passed and became a law. St. 
Clair resigned his military command, and Gen¬ 
eral Anthony Wayne was appointed Com¬ 
mander in Chief. This was in the spring of 
1793 . 

(X) 


THE END 






























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